THRILLING  DEEDS 
OF  BRITISH  AIRMEN 


THRILLING  DEEDS 
OF  BRITISH  AIRMEN 


UNIFORM  IVITH  THIS  BOOK 

V.C.  HEROES  OF  THE  WAR 

By  G.  A.  LEASK,  M.A.  With 
Eight  Illustrations  by  F.  Matania 
and  others.     Price  3s.  6d.  net. 


^ 


Fr.  The  Glorious  Achievement  of  Lieut.  Warneford,  V.C. 


THRILLING 

DEEDS    OF 

BRITISH  AIRMEN 


BY 


ERIC  WOOD 

author  of 
'famous  voyages  of  the  grbat  discoverers'  etc. 


LONDON 

GEORGF.  G    HARRAP  &  COMPANY 

2  fir-  3  PORTSMOUTH  STREET  KINGSWAY  W.C. 

MCMXVII 


%-^ 


Printed  in  Great  BriUin 
Hy  TMmbttllir'  Spmrs,  EJinhureh 


Preface 


IN  this  war  of  wonders  to  many  people 
the  most  wonderful  thing  is,  perhaps, 
the  part  which  aircraft  has  played.  Very 
few  of  us  realized  less  than  three  years  ago 
what  a  formidable  weapon  aircraft  was  to 
prove,  and  most  of  us  can  remember  the  days 
— they  seem  not  so  very  distant — when  flying 
was  treated  as  a  great  mad  joke  save  on 
occasion  when  it  became  a  tragedy  through 
some  '  mad-brained  enthusiast '  being  killed 
during  an  experimental  flight.  Novelists,  who 
are  free  to  be  prophets,  naturally  seized  upon 
the  subject  of  flight  and  predicted  all  sorts  of 
things  which  perhaps  they  themselves  did  not 
believe  would  happen  ;  a  few  men,  wiser  than 
their  generation,  and  gifted  with  far-seeing 
eyes,  seriously  insisted  on  the  military  im- 
portance of  aircraft  in  the  near  future,  but 
people  generally  believed  that  many  years 
must  elapse  before  aircraft  could  be  of  practical 
vadue. 
Then  came  the  war,  which  in  due  course 

5 


Thrilling  Deeds 

revealed  unsuspected  uses  to  which  aircraft 
could  be  put.  Very  soon  it  was  discovered 
that  the  flying  men  were  the  eyes  of  the  navies 
and  of  the  armies,  and  as  time  went  on  it  was 
realized  that  the  side  which  obtained  ascendancy 
in  the  air  was  well  on  the  way  to  victory.  It 
is  now  safe  to  predict,  in  view  of  all  that 
has  happened,  that  aircraft  will  play  a  decisive 
part  in  the  final  stages  of  the  mighty  conflict. 
The  increased  range  of  the  heaviest  guns, 
both  naval  and  military,  demand  methods 
of  observation  different  from  any  previously 
known  and  utihzed ;  in  fact,  it  may  be  said 
that  long-range  guns — at  least  guns  of  such  a 
range  as  now  in  use — have  been  made  effectively 
possible  only  by  aerial  observation.  The  char- 
acter of  trench  warfare,  also,  similar  in  some 
respects  to,  yet  in  others  very  different  from, 
the  war  of  trenches  in  other  conflicts,  has 
demanded  the  aerial  scout,  even  as  that  latest 
ingenious  war  device,  the  Tank,  calls  for 
assistance  from  the  aeroplane. 

This  little  book,  however,  is  not  a  serious 
study  of  aircraft  in  war,  but,  as  its  title 
indicates,  a  compilation  of  thrilling  deeds  of 

6 


Preface 

British  airmen  chosen  from  a  very  large  number 
to  illustrate  various  types  and  phases  of  aerial 
operations.  Sometimes  the  telling  has  been 
in  the  nature  of  making  bricks  without  straw, 
because  of  the  absence  of  details  in  so  many 
official  reports.  I  trust,  however,  that  in  ex- 
panding such  terse  accounts  of  what  obviously 
were  heroic  incidents  I  have  not  done  violence 
to  truth.  My  aim  has  been  to  present  what 
were  probably  the  facts,  and  I  have  carefully 
followed  the  suggestions  contained  in  the  brief 
originals  with  that  object  in  view.  What 
wonderful  stories,  indeed,  must  be  hidden 
behind  some  of  the  cold  phraseology  of  official 
communiquis !  What  courage,  what  sheer 
audacity !  Some  day,  perhaps,  we  may  be 
allowed  to  know  more,  and  then  the  world 
will  be  thrilled  indeed. 

I  am  aware  that  many  of  our  gallant  flying 
men  desire  to  remain  anonymous,  and  because 
of  that  the  only  cases  in  which  names  are  given 
in  the  book  are  those  in  which  the  official 
reports  have  lifted  the  curtain  of  anonymity. 
Very  often  details  could  have  been  given 
which  would  have  made  certain  things  much 

7 


Thrillmg  Deeds 

clearer,  but  discretion  demanded  that  those 
details  should  be  omitted,  as  being  in  the 
nature  of  secrets. 

The  book  is  intended  to  be  a  tribute  to  the 
gallant  men  of  the  air — the  humble  tribute  of 
one  who  is  not  a  flier,  but  who  has  a  great 
admiration  for  those  who  are.  I  hope  that  it 
may  be  privileged  to  play  some  small  part  in 
keeping  alive  the  widespread  interest  which 
has  been  aroused  in  the  doings  of  the  Flying 
Services. 

E.  W. 


8 


Contents 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  'The  Spotters' 13 

II.  Some  Stories  of  '  Rupert  '  .         .         .  27 

III.  Some  Fine  British  Raids      •         •         •  39 

IV.  The  Pluck  of  Major  Brabazon  Rees  .  62 

V.  The  End  of  the  "  K5nigsberg  "  .        .  72 

VI.  "  One     of     our     Machines     did     not 

Return  " 85 

VII.  First-Aid  in  Mid-Air    ....  106 

VIII.  Warneford,  V.C 115 

IX.  Flying  while  Dying     ....  125 

X.  Rescued  by  Airmen      ....  133 

XI.  Tales  of  the  Coast  Patrol          .         .  147 

XII.  A  Batch  of  V.C.s          ....  170 

XIII.  The  Man  who  Brought  Down  Immel- 

MANN 193 

XIV.  Some  Zeppelin  Strafers       .        .        .  208 

XV.  On  Fire! 241 

9 


Thrilling  Deeds 


CHAPTKR 

XVI.  The  Battle  of  Seventy  Aeroplanes 


XVII.  On  Patrol  .  .  .  • 
XVIII.  Against  Great  Odds    . 

XIX.  Some  Anonymous  Heroes  . 
XX.  The  Train  Bombers 

XXI.  A  Champion  Aerial  Fighter 


PAGE 

248 

278 


10 


PACE 


I Ihtstrations 

The  Glorious   Achievement    of    Lieutenant 
Warneford  ....      Frontispiece 

From  a  painting  by  Lieut.  F.  Gordon-Crosby,  A.L,  A.LD.     Copy- 
right W.  R,  Deighton,  London. 

The  British  Air  Raid  on  Cuxhaven,  Christ- 
mas Day  1914 46 

From  a  drawing  by  Arthur  W.  J.  Burgess. 

The  R.F.C.  at  Work 64 

From  a  drawing  by  G.  H.  Davis. 

A  British  Aeroplane  Ablaze  after  a  Duel 

with  a  Giant  Biplane   .         .         .         .102 

From  a  drawing  by  John  dk  G.  Bryan. 

A  Seaplane  'Spotting'  a  Submarine     .         .       154 

From  a  drawing  by  Arthur  W.  J.  Burgess. 

The  R.N.A.S.  at  Work  .         .         .         .       166 

From  a  drawing  by  G.  H.  Davis. 

The  Destruction  of  a  Zeppelin  at  Cuffley  .       216 

From  a  painting  by  Walter  Hunt.    Copyright  \V.  R.  Deighton, 
London. 

Raiding  the  Raider 238 


II 


CHAPTER  I 

'  The  Spotters ' 

IN  the  changed  conditions  of  modern 
warfare  airmen  have  become  the  eyes 
of  the  army.  Starting  from  their  bases, 
aviators  wing  their  way  over  the  enemy's  hnes 
and  observe  every  passing  thing  that  comes 
within  their  vision,  so  that  generals,  sitting  at 
headquarters,  know  exactly  to  where  enemy 
reinforcements  have  gone,  how  many  trains 
of  munitions  have  been  sent  to  certain  places, 
where  batteries  are  placed,  and  a  thousand 
things  that  the  brains  of  an  army  must  be 
cognizant  of.  Trenches  dug  overnight  are 
noted  the  next  morning  and  inscribed  upon 
the  large-scale  maps  which  are  used  as  bases 
for  the  plans  of  operations.  In  fact,  httle  that 
happens  escapes  notice — if  the  flying  corps  of 
an  army  has  won  command  of  the  air. 

In  yet  another  sense  are  airmen  the  eyes  of 
an  army.  During  a  bombardment  observers, 
hovering  over  the  field  of  battle,  note  the  effect 

13 


Thrilling  Deeds 

of  artillery  fire,  obtain  the  range  and  wireless 
it  back  to  the  batteries ;  then,  when  the  guns 
have  hurled  forth  their  bolts  of  destruction, 
they  observe  whether  the  range  is  accurate, 
and,  if  not,  signal  back  instant  correction. 
So  the  work  goes  on — and  always  under  intense 
fire  from  anti-aircraft  guns,  for  the  enemy 
knows  how  vital  to  the  batteries  hidden  away 
back  behind  the  front  lines  is  the  '  spotting ' 
of  the  aerial  onlookers.  It  is  work  to  try  the 
strongest  nerves,  for  the  aeroplane  is  continu- 
ally dodging  like  some  giant  dragon-fly,  in 
the  effort  to  avoid  screaming  shells,  bursting 
shrapnel,  or  some  enemy  machine  that  has 
been  sent  up  to  put  an  end  to  the  work  of 
observation.  Quick  calculations  have  to  be 
made,  and  made  accurately,  otherwise  shells, 
each  costing  hundreds  of  pounds,  may  be  flung 
across  No  Man's  Land  only  to  tear  up  vacant 
fields.  Failure  to  explode  in  some  vital  place 
will  cost  many  valuable  lives  when  the  infantry 
advance. 

The  following  stories  illustrate  the  peril  and 
the  glory  involved  in  the  work  of  '  spotting  ' 
on  active  service. 

14 


The  Spotters 

It  naturally  follows  that  when  aeroplanes 
are  on  artillery  observation  service,  enemy 
'planes,  as  we  have  indicated,  endeavour  to 
bring  them  down  or  else  to  drive  them 
away,  and  such  efforts  lead  to  aerial  combats. 
During  a  battle  on  July  6,  1915,  one  of  our 
'  spotting  '  machines  was  strenuously  attacked 
by  German  aviators,  after  it  had  been  found 
hopeless  to  try  to  drive  it  away  by  gun- 
fire. In  those  days  the  '  spotters  '  had  to  be 
fighters  too,  because  aerial  tactics  had  not 
developed  into  such  a  fine  art  as  it  is  to-day, 
when  the  observing  machines  are  protected 
by  fighting  'planes  which  fly  much  higher  to 
keep  a  look-out  for  and  to  attack  any  enemy 
machines  which  may  attempt  to  engage  the 
'  spotters.' 

The  British  artillery  was  doing  good  work, 
thanks  to  the  information  from  the  officers 
flying  in  the  British  machine.  These  were 
the  pilot,  Second-Lieutenant  Dwight  Filley, 
R.F.C.  (Special  Reserve),  and  Lieutenant 
Lambert  Playfair  (ist  Royal  Scots  and  R.F.C), 
who  was  acting  as  observer.  Their  '  spotting  ' 
had  resulted  in  so  many  direct  hits  that,  the 

15 


Thrilling  Deeds 

hostile  anti-aircraft  guns  having  proved  in- 
effectual, a  number  of  German  fighting  machines 
were  sent  up  to  attack  them.  As  one  by  one 
they  rose  to  the  attack  the  gallant  pilot  of  the 
British  » machine,  with  a  word  through  the 
speaking-tube  to  his  observer,  made  a  drive 
which  brought  him  alongside  or  above  the 
enemy,  and  a  fair  supply  of  ammunition  for 
the  machine-gun  being  to  hand,  it  was  ex- 
pended to  such  good  purpose  that  one  after 
another  the  Germans  were  compelled  to  retire. 
In  the  breathing  spaces  between  the  different 
combats  Filley  would  drop  back  into  position 
favourable  for  observation,  and  Playfair  would 
resume  his  interrupted  work  of  taking  notes 
and  sending  back  news  to  the  battery. 

The  work  in  hand  was  important  enough 
to  call  for  all  the  attention  of  the  two  officers, 
but  so  far  as  they  themselves  were  concerned, 
they  did  not  seem  to  mind  the  interruptions. 
Down  below,  however,  the  Germans  were  be- 
coming greatly  exasperated,  and  finally  some 
officer,  having  apparently  made  up  his  mind 
that  the  British  aeroplane  must  be  brought 
down  or  driven  off  if  the  position  were  to  be 

i6 


The  Spotters 

tenable  much  longer,  sent  up  a  couple  of 
aeroplanes  simultaneously,  with  instructions  to 
attack  together. 

One  can,  in  imagination,  hear  one  of  the 
British  airmen  shouting  through  the  speaking- 
tube  :  "  Now  for  it  !  "  or  see  the  other  passing 
to  his  companion  a  slip  of  paper  with  a  few 
words  scribbled  upon  it  telling  him  to  get 
ready  for  the  scrap,  with  the  added  titbit : 
"  There  are  only  five  rounds  left !  " 

A  final  message  was  sent  back  to  the  battery, 
and  then,  while  a  shell  from  one  of  the  guns 
crashed  on  to  the  spot  indicated,  Filley,  with- 
out waiting  for  the  Germans  to  attack  him, 
swooped  toward  them  in  order  to  get  in  the 
first  shots.  It  was  a  right  royal  battle  while 
it  lasted,  but,  unfortunately,  it  did  not  last 
very  long.  The  British  were  badly  outmatched, 
being  short  of  ammunition  and  having  two 
enemies  to  fight.  Filley,  however,  manoeuvred 
his  machine  so  skilfully,  and  Playfair  worked 
his  gun  so  cleverly,  that,  but  for  an  unlucky 
bullet  from  one  of  the  German  machines,  they 
might  have  come  off  with  flying  colours. 
That  bullet,  however,  put  an  end  to  Filley's 
B  17 


Thrilling  Deeds 

hopes,  for  Lieutenant  Playfair  was  killed  in  the 
very  act  of  firing  his  gun. 

Practised  as  he  was  in  the  ways  of  engines, 
Lieutenant  Filley,  after  recovering  from  the 
shock  he  had  suffered  at  seeing  his  comrade 
killed,  realized  that  his  engine  had  been  damaged 
by  some  of  the  spraying  bullets  from  the  German 
gun.  He  was  helpless  for  attack  now  that  his 
companion  was  dead,  and  his  one  idea  hence- 
forth was  to  save  his  machine.  To  stay  where 
he  was  would  mean  being  shot  down  by  the 
Germans,  in  which  case  the  aeroplane  would 
be  captured  and  he  himself  made  prisoner, 
even  if  he  were  not  killed. 

The  true  soldier  knows  when  it  is  time  to 
leave  the  scene  of  battle,  and  Filley  realized 
that  his  duty  was  to  get  back  as  quickly  as 
possible.  The  enemy,  thinking  that  they  now 
had  him,  closed  in  upon  him,  but  the  Lieutenant 
swung  round,  and,  with  his  engine  making 
weird  noises,  as  though  it  resented  being 
driven  while  so  severely  mauled,  made  for  the 
British  lines.  Presently  the  Germans  came 
within  range  of  the  British  anti-aircraft  guns, 
whereupon  they  promptly  turned  tail,  leaving 

i8 


The  Spotters 

Filley  to  go  on  his  way  unmolested  to  a  grace- 
ful landing  which  he  soon  was  able  to  make. 

For  his  courageous  part  in  this  brilliant 
combat  Lieutenant  Filley  was  awarded  the 
Military  Cross. 

The  same  coveted  decoration  was  awarded 
to  Lieutenant  W.  R.  Freeman  (Manchester 
Regiment  and  R.F.C.)  for  his  "  gallantry, 
ability,  and  very  valuable  work,"  about  the 
same  time  and  in  somewhat  similar  circum- 
stances. Hidden  German  batteries  had  been 
making  things  decidedly  uncomfortable  in  a 
certain  part  of  the  British  line,  and  the 
Lieutenant  was  detailed  to  reconnoitre  their 
position.  Despite  continual  attempts  to  bring 
him  down,  the  Lieutenant  held  on  his  way 
over  the  German  lines  until  he  succeeded  in 
'  spotting  '  the  guns.  His  machine  was  fitted 
with  wireless  transmitting  apparatus,  and  he 
proceeded  to  send  back  the  results  of  his 
observations,  until  at  last  the  British  artillery 
got  the  range  to  a  nicety. 

Hovering  over  the  German  lines  Lieutenant 
Freeman  had  some  exciting  moments.  All 
about    him    shells    were    bursting    and    rifle 

19 


Thrilling  Deeds 

bullets  came  thick  and  fast.  German  aero- 
planes were  not  absent  either,  but  for  five 
solid  hours  the  aviator  stuck  to  the  task 
allotted  to  him,  and,  although  his  propeller 
and  his  planes  were  damaged  by  bullets,  he 
refused  to  be  driven  off  until  he  considered 
that  his  work  was  done.  Only  then  did  he 
make  for  his  base,  no  doubt  highly  pleased 
with  what  he  had  achieved. 

Another  '  spotter,'  Second-Lieutenant  A.  A. 
Benjamin  Thomson  (Royal  Warwicks  and 
R.F.C.),  earned  the  Military  Cross  at  Neuve- 
Chapelle  in  1915.  He  was  working  in  con- 
junction with  a  heavy  gun  which,  well  behind 
the  front  line,  was  bombarding  the  German 
trenches.  On  August  29th  the  rain  was  com- 
ing down  in  torrents  and  the  clouds  were 
at  500  feet  only,  which  naturally  involved  fly- 
ing, for  observation  work,  at  a  height  which 
was  distinctly  uncomfortable  from  several 
points  of  view.  In  some  way,  perhaps,  the 
clouds  may  have  proved  friendly,  for,  when 
the  German  fire  became  too  hot  for  safety, 
the  Lieutenant  could  dart  above  a  cloud-bank 
and  remain  sheltered — to  come  through  at  a 

20 


The  Spotters 

different  spot  and  so  compel  the  enemy  to 
readjust  sights  and  go  to  the  trouble  of 
getting  the  new  range  ;  all  of  which  meant 
that  the  observer  was  given  time  to  make 
his  notes  and  send  messages  to  the  big  gun, 
which,  owing  to  his  excellent  work,  was  regis- 
tering direct  hits  in  quick  succession. 

Once,  however,  the  clouds  nearly  brought 
disaster.  Even  we  who  grovel  on  tena  firma 
will  understand  that  it  can  be  no  easy  matter 
to  keep  one's  bearings  in  mid-air  when,  owing 
to  a  driving  rain,  one  can  scarcely  see  the 
ground  below,  and  when  one  gets  tucked 
away  among  thick  clouds  it  is  easy  to  over- 
shoot the  mark.  This  is  what  Lieutenant 
Thomson  did.  He  had  got  in  among  clouds 
which  hid  everything  from  his  sight,  and 
when  he  finally  came  down  out  of  them,  he 
found  himself  well  over  the  German  trenches. 
He  was  quickly  espied  by  the  enemy,  and  a 
very  tornado  of  fire  instantly  enveloped  him. 
Lieutenant  Thomson,  however,  favoured  by  the 
gods  who  guard  the  brave,  lived  through  the 
storm  and  succeeded  in  driving  his  machine  back 
toward  our  lines,  over  which  he  calmly  hovered, 

21 


Thrilling  Deeds 

continuing\his  observations,  with  the  result 
that,  in  the  course  of  a  couple  of  hours,  the 
British  heavy  gun  tossed  no  fewer  than  ten 
big  shells  plump  on  to  the  required  target, 
to  say  nothing  of  others  which  fell  uncomfort- 
ably near.  The  discomfited  Germans  shook 
angry  fists  at  the  airman  who  seemed,  as  he 
hovered  lightly  in  the  grey  dome  of  heaven, 
to  be  mocking  them.  It  was  only  when 
it  became  too  dark  to  see  anything  that 
Lieutenant  Thomson  volplaned  to  earth,  after 
a  "most  satisfactory  piece  of  work. 

Another  aviator  who,  by  all  the  rules,  ought 
to  have  given  up,  but  who  succeeded  by 
a  tremendous  effort  in  keeping  his  machine 
in  action,  was  Second-Lieutenant  Malcolm 
Henderson  (4th  Ross  Highland  Seaforth 
Highlanders,  R.F.C.).  This  officer  was  accom- 
panied by  an  observer  who  was  to  take 
photographs  of  enemy  positions.  This  work 
naturally  involved  flying  at  a  low  altitude  at 
certain  places,  in  order  to  avoid  clouds  and 
the  '  Archibalds,'  which  latter  saw  to  it  that 
the  British  aeroplane  did  not  have  an  un- 
molested trip. 

22 


The  Spotters 

Whenever  Henderson  dived  or  spiralled  into 
view,  German  anti-aircraft  guns  banged  away 
at  him,  woolly  puffs  of  smoke  burst  all  round, 
and  high  explosive  shells  crashed  thunder- 
ously above  the  roar  of  the  engine. 

Coolly  Henderson  controlled  his  machine, 
and  just  as  calmly  the  observer  took  his 
photographs,  and  it  seemed  that,  despite  the 
terrific  bombardment  to  which  they  were 
subjected,  the  two  aviators  would  succeed 
in  their  mission. 

Then  came  catastrophe. 

At  one  place  the  Germans  below  had  the 
range  almost  to  an  inch,  and  explosions  of  the 
shells  made  the  aeroplane  plunge  madly.  The 
pilot  kept  his  head,  but  expected  that  a  missile 
would  strike  home  at  any  moment.  He  did 
not  have  long  to  wait.  Suddenly  the  machine 
staggered,  and  seemed  as  though  it  would  turn 
over ;  there  was  a  deafening  roar,  a  tearing, 
ripping  sound,  followed  by  another,  a  hoarse  cry 
from  the  pilot,  a  startled  exclamation  from  the 
observer.  For  an  instant  the  machine  hung,  as 
it  were,  out  of  control,  then  gave  a  downward 
lurch.    The  slip  might  have  ended  in  a  nose- 

^3 


Thrilling  Deeds 

dive  but  for  the  pilot's  tremendous  reassertion 
of  self-control.  After  recovering  from  the  first 
shock  of  the  appalling  thing  that  had  happened, 
Henderson  set  himself  a  task  which  was  suffi- 
cient to  daunt,  so  one  would  think,  the  bravest 
of  men. 

What  had  happened  in  that  dramatic  moment 
was  this  :  a  gun  had  found  the  exact  range 
and  a  shell,  hitting  the  nacelle  of  the  aeroplane, 
had  crashed  its  way  through  the  floor,  cut 
off  one  of  Henderson's  legs  just  below  the 
knee,  and  then  continued  on  its  way  into 
space. 

Losing  blood  as  he  was  at  a  fearful  rate, 
with  his  head  dizzy,  his  eyes  bleared,  every 
nerve  affected  by  the  shock,  who  could  have 
blamed  Lieutenant  Henderson  if  he  had  given 
up  ?  How  could  any  man  be  expected  to 
withstand  so  awful  a  disaster  ?  In  all  too 
many  cases,  such  a  tragedy  must  have  resulted 
in  a  still  greater  one,  the  culmination  being 
a  wrecked  and  burning  machine,  the  funeral 
pyre  of  its  occupants. 

But  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  the  dramatic 
truth  is  that  the  heroic  Henderson  on  regaining 

24 


The  Spotters 

consciousness  immediately  got  his  machine 
under  control  again  while  at  that  dizzy  height 
of  7000  feet,  and  with  the  one  determination 
to  save  his  aeroplane,  his  observer,  and  the 
precious  photographs,  set  his  course  toward 
the  British  lines. 

Meantime,  the  German  gunners,  whose  ob- 
servers had  marked  the  effect  of  the  shell, 
had  fully  expected  to  see  the  machine  fall 
crashing  to  the  ground,  but  when,  to  their 
amazement,  it  recovered  equilibrium  and  then 
turned  round  and  made  off,  they  feverishly 
got  to  work  again.  But  ere  they  had  made 
up  their  minds  to  act,  Henderson  had  driven 
his  'plane  so  far  that  it  was  necessary  for  the 
artillery  to  get  a  new  range,  and  by  the  time 
that  was  done  he  was  still  farther  off.  With 
a  deafening  roar  the  engine  drove  the  'plane 
along  at  its  giddy  height,  and  with  physical 
strength  fast  waning,  and  the  strain  sapping 
his  nervous  energy,  the  pilot  manipulated  his 
machine,  dodging  the  Teuton's  '  woolly  bears  ' 
when  the  range  was  too  accurate  to  be  pleasant. 
Already  in  the  distance  he  could  see  the  British 
lines,   and   if   only   consciousness  would  last, 

25 


Thrilling  Deeds 

safety  was  assured.  Bracing  himself  for  a 
last  effort,  Henderson  set  his  teeth,  and,  hold- 
ing gamely  on  through  the  pursuing  shells,  he 
presently  volplaned  to  earth  well  within  our 
own  lines.  Only  then  did  his  grip  relax  and 
his  senses  leave  him. 


26 


CHAPTER  II 

Some  Stories  of  'Rttpert ' 

ALTHOUGH  we  hear  more  about  the 
aeroplane  than  we  do  about  the  kite 
balloon,  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  former  has  by  no  means  ousted  the 
latter  from  its  place  as  a  valuable  arm  in  an 
army's  equipment.  The  aeroplane  goes  out 
over  the  enemy's  lines,  seeking  hidden  batteries, 
photographing  positions,  locating  reserves,  and 
hovering  over  bombarded  sectors  and  signalling 
to  the  far-off  gunners  the  effect  of  their  firing. 
The  balloon— that  is,  the  kite  balloon,  the 
queer-looking,  unwieldy  gas-bag  with  its  ob- 
servation car  dangling  below — is  used  behind 
the  lines  continuously  to  observe  the  effect  of 
gun-fire;  but,  although  it  is  behind  the  lines, 
it  is  by  no  means  safe.  Why,  by  the  way, 
the  kite  balloon  should  have  been  christened 
'  Rupert '  no  one  knows,  any  more  than  it 
is  possible  to  find  out  why  the  anti-aircraft 
gun  should  be  called  '  Archibald,'  but  there 

27 


Thrilling  Deeds 

it  is.  Wherever  the  flying  men  go  they 
carry  their  '  Hngo  '  with  them,  and,  no  doubt, 
these  Uttle  things  give  a  touch  of  humour 
to  what  is,  after  all,  a  most  serious  business. 

Naturally,  the  artillery  objects  to  enemy 
kite  balloons,  and  attempts  are  made  to  bring 
them  down— both  by  gun-fire  and  aeroplane 
attacks.  As  a  result,  many  have  gone  to  earth 
in  flames,  and  lucky  is  the  observation  officer 
in  such  circumstances  who  escapes  with  his 
life.  Very  often,  when  a  strong  wind  is  blow- 
ing, the  cables  cannot  stand  the  strain  put 
upon  them,  the  balloon  tugs  like  a  dog  on  the 
leash,  shakes  itself,  and  goes  on  a  wild,  free 
voyage  at  the  bidding  of  the  wind — sometimes 
toward  the  enemy's  lines. 

An  incident  of  this  latter  kind  befell  Second- 
Lieutenant  A.  C.  D.  Gavin  (Royal  Highlanders 
and  R.F.C.)  and  a  passenger  who  was  in  the 
swaying  car  with  him.  A  bombardment  was 
about  to  take  place  at  a  certain  point  of  the 
line,  and  Lieutenant  Gavin  had  been  deputed 
to  go  aloft.  The  great  gas-bag,  unwieldy, 
hideous-looking  thing  that  it  was,  had  been 
inflated,  and  the  Lieutenant  and  his  passenger 

28 


Some  Stories  of  ^Rtcpert ' 

took  their  places  in  the  basket.  The  word 
was  given  to  be  off ;  strong-armed  men  on  a 
motor  lorry  near  by  began  to  unwind  a 
steel  cable  from  a  big  winch,  and  the  '  Rupert ' 
started  to  mount,  swaying  in  the  wind,  but 
always  being  brought  back  to  position  by  the 
queer-looking  '  rudder.'  Up  and  up,  until,  at 
4000  feet,  the  balloon  came  to  rest — if  con- 
tinually straining  at  a  leash  which  will  not 
allow  the  balloon  to  go  higher  can  be  called 
rest. 

Far  below,  and  well  away  from  the  motor 
lorry,  the  guns  were  firing.  Lieutenant  Gavin 
through  his  binoculars  marked  where  the 
shells  burst  in  the  distant  German  lines. 
Presently  there  was  a  great  spout  of  earth 
and  debris  of  all  kinds.  The  Lieutenant  spoke 
a  few  words  into  the  telephone  with  which 
his  balloon  was  provided,  and  the  man  in  the 
shelter  below  received  a  message  which  told 
of  the  result  of  that  trial  round  ;  he  in  turn 
telephoned  it  to  the  far-off  battery,  the  re- 
ceiver there  rushed  off  to  the  officer  in  charge, 
the  range  was  altered,  and  once  again  the 
heavies  opened  fire. 

29 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Meanwhile,  up  in  the  basket,  Lieutenant 
Gavin  was  having  no  pleasant  time.  The 
Germans  had  quickly  realized  that  the  good 
marksmanship  being  made  by  the  battery  they 
could  not  see  and  could  not  hit  was  the  result 
of  the  keen  watching  of  the  man  in  the  sway- 
ing basket,  and  they  were  doing  their  utmost 
to  bring  his  observation  work  to  a  close. 
They  opened  fire  with  their  heavies,  aided  by 
their  own  balloonists,  who  knew  that  beneath 
the  British  balloon  there  was  the  attendant 
lorry,  and  this  being  a  better  target  than  the 
gas-bag  itself,  they  directed  their  gunners' 
fire  toward  it.  Lieutenant  Gavin,  looking 
down,  saw  a  '  crump  '  arrive,  saw  the  earth 
flung  up  in  a  shower,  and  knew  that  he  was 
likely  to  be  cut  adrift.  While  yet  his  cables 
held,  however,  he  was  going  to  carry  out  the 
work  assigned  to  him,  and,  all  unconcerned, 
as  became  a  Briton,  he  went  calmly  on  with 
the  task  of  correcting  the  range  of  our  own 
firing  and  noting  the  effect  of  the  shells. 

Observation  work  is  not  all  plain  sailing. 
The  Germans  have  a  little  dodge  which  they 
play,  and  that  is  to  fire  off  flashes  at  various 

30 


Some  Stories  of  ^Rupert ' 

points,  hoping  to  mislead  the  observer  into 
beheving  that  they  are  the  flashes  of  guns. 
A  man  needs  to  be  well  trained  and  well 
experienced  to  avoid  being  fooled  in  this  way, 
because  to  be  deceived  means  that  the  battery 
will  waste  hundreds  of  shells,  perhaps,  on 
trying  to  smash  guns  which  do  not  exist ! 

Lieutenant  Gavin  was  not  to  be  deceived, 
and  he  did  such  good  work  that  the  Germans 
realized  that  unless  they  made  better  practice 
with  their  firing  their  guns  would  be  out- 
matched. So  they  concentrated  upon  the 
lorry ;  there  was  a  terrific  roar  below,  the 
balloon  gave  a  sudden  leap  upward ;  and, 
looking  down,  the  Lieutenant  saw  a  great  hole 
in  the  ground  where  the  lorry  had  once  stood. 

He  knew  what  had  happened,  and  he  knew 
that  his  work  for  that  day,  at  any  rate,  if  not 
for  the  duration  of  the  war,  was  over.  The 
balloon,  as  though  happy  to  be  released, 
bounded  still  higher,  and,  caught  in  a  wind 
current,  began  to  drift  toward  the  enemy's 
lines  ! 

Such  a  moment  calls  for  prompt  action, 
and  Lieutenant  Gavin  was  not  found  wanting. 

31 


Th'illmg  Deeds 

Dropping  many  hundreds  of  feet  in  a  para- 
chute does  not  appeal  to  everybody,  and 
many  can  remember  the  feeHng  of  dread  at 
exhibitions  when  the  parachutist  dropped  out 
of  the  basket  of  his  balloon  and  a  violent 
death  seemed  to  be  assured. 

Perhaps  parachuting  is  a  fine  sport,  if  you 
know  how  to  use  the  apparatus  ;  but  if  you 
have  not.  been  initiated,  there  is  little  sport 
about  it,  especially  if  shrapnel  is  screaming 
around.  However,  Lieutenant  Gavin  coolly 
set  to  work  to  instruct  his  passenger  in  the 
use  of  the  parachute,  made  sure  that  he  under- 
stood, then,  with  a  cheery  au  revoir,  helped 
him  up  on  to  the  edge  of  the  basket,  which 
was  swaying  perilously  all  the  time,  and  told 
him  to  "  Go  !  "  The  passenger  obeyed  the 
injunction  and  dropped  like  a  plummet  for 
innumerable  feet.  His  heart  must  have  been 
in  his  mouth  no  doubt,  and  he  must  have 
wondered  whether  the  wretched  envelope  would 
ever  open. 

Gavin  now  had  no  time  to  waste.  Before 
he  could  follow  his  passenger  on  the  exciting 
trip,  there  was  much  to  be  done.     Supposing 

32 


Some  Stories  of  'Rupert ' 

the  balloon  came  down  in  the  enemy's  terri- 
tory the  Germans  must  not  get  hold  of  the 
valuable  papers  in  the  basket.  These  papers 
contained  confidential  instructions,  and  his 
own  elaborate  observations  for  the  eyes  of  the 
Staff  only.  There  were  also  instruments  the 
secrets  of  which  were  not  to  be  surrendered 
to  the  enemy.  Gavin  hastily  gathered  his 
papers,  and  deliberately  destroyed  them  what 
time  the  current  of  wind  was  carrying  the 
balloon  swiftly  toward  the  German  lines.  At 
last  the  final  piece  of  paper  was  torn  to  shreds, 
the  instruments  were  smashed  beyond  recog- 
nition ;  and  then,  and  then  only,  did  Gavin 
think  about  himself.  He  looked  down  out  of 
the  basket,  and  saw  that  he  was  still  over  the 
British  lines,  but  rapidly  approaching  their 
limits.  He  seized  his  parachute,  saw  that  it 
was  in  working  order,  put  himself  into  the 
ring,  gripped  the  handholds  provided,  climbed 
upon  the  edge  of  the  basket,  noted  the  white 
covering  of  his  comrade's  parachute  still  drop- 
ping toward  earth — and  fell,  like  Lucifer,  into 
the  emptiness  below. 

Would  the  envelope  never  open  ?     Was  that 

c  33 


Thrilling  Deeds 

terrific  rush  to  keep  on  until  he  smashed  into 
the  ground  ?  And,  if  the  parachute  did  open, 
where  would  he  land  ? 

Gavin  could  not  answer  all  of  those  ques- 
tions at  once.  The  answer  to  the  first  came 
suddenly  :  there  was  a  jerk  at  his  arms,  as 
though  they  were  being  pulled  out  of  their 
sockets,  then  the  downward  mad  rush  ceased, 
and  in  its  place  there  was  a  gentle  floating 
motion.  He  would  not  crash  into  the  ground  ! 
From  below,  as  he  drew  nearer,  came  the 
louder  boom  of  guns ;  presently  came  the 
rattle  of  machine-gun  fire,  and  he  realized 
that  he  was  just  over  the  front  lines.  But 
in  which  front  lines  would  he  land  ? 

Down  and  down  he  continued  to  drop, 
his  field  of  vision  becoming  narrower  as  he 
neared  the  earth  ;  the  white  lines  of  chalk 
which  he  knew  to  be  trenches  grew  clearer 
and  more  distinct,  and  at  last  he  knew  that 
he  would  land  where  he  wanted  to  land — 
within  the  British  lines. 

However,  when  he  touched  earth  German 
machine-guns  were  rattUng  perilously,  and  he 
had  good  reason  to  thank  his  lucky  stars  when 

34 


Some  Stones  of'Rtiperf 

at  last  he  crawled  unharmed  into   a  British 
trench. 

On  a  day  toward  the  end  of  1916,  during 
a  tremendous  bombardment  by  both  sides, 
Second-Lieutenant  Norman  Brearley  (Liver- 
pool Regiment  and  R.F.C.)  decided  that  a 
certain  '  Rupert '  well  behind  the  German  lines 
was  proving  far  too  useful,  and  he  resolved 
to  bring  its  career  to  an  end.  As  he  winged 
his  way  over  the  front  lines  toward  his  objec- 
tive the  Lieutenant  chuckled  at  the  thought 
of  the  surprise  he  was  going  to  give  the  Huns — 
always  supposing  that  a  certain  little  ruse  he 
had  in  mind  proved  workable. 

Long  before  he  arrived  anywhere  near  the 
'  Rupert,'  he  was  spotted,  and  the  '  Archies ' 
did  their  best  to  drive  him  back  or  bring  him 
down.  But  Lieutenant  Brearley  was  a  '  sticker,' 
and  held  on  his  way  until,  with  '  woolly 
bears '  woofing  all  about  him,  he  was  immedi- 
ately above  the  kite  balloon.  The  anti-aircraft 
guns,  of  course,  redoubled  their  efforts,  while 
the  observers  in  the  basket  of  the  balloon 
fired  madly  from  their  rifles. 

35 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Suddenly  the  Germans  on  terra  firma  shouted 
excitedly ;  the  tiny  speck  in  the  sky  was 
seen  to  be  in  trouble,  apparently  having  been 
winged. 

What  had  happened  ? 

A  high  explosive  shell  had  burst  near  the 
aeroplane,  the  machine  had  suddenly  tilted, 
and  with  its  planes  almost  at  right  angles  to 
the  ground  had  begun  to  side-slip  at  an  amazing 
speed.  Not  one  of  the  Germans  below  thought 
that  anything  could  save  the  airman.  Great 
was  the  rejoicing  among  the  gunners,  while 
the  occupants  of  the  '  Rupert '  felt  that  they 
had  been  saved  from  a  fate  they  scarcely 
dared  think  about. 

The  '  Archies '  stopped  firing,  for  it  was  only 
throwing  away  good  ammunition  to  pursue  a 
stricken  foe  whose  life  was  all  but  spent. 

Lieutenant  Brearley  sat  tight,  but  there  was 
no  fear  in  his  face,  nothing  about  him  that 
would  have  suggested  that  he  knew  he  was 
hurtling  to  his  death  :  instead  a  grim  smile 
lurked  about  his  mouth  and  a  determined  look 
was  in  his  eyes  as  his  hand  gripped  the  trigger 
of  his  Lewis  gun. 

36 


Some  Stories  of  'R^tpert ' 

For  this  side-slip  down  through  space  was 
not  the  result  of  the  machine  being  hit  at  all ; 
it  was  a  deliberate  manoeuvre !  The  ruse  was 
not  one  to  be  lightly  attempted,  for  in  order 
to  deceive  the  spectators  below,  the  machine 
must  drop  sheer  with  wings  vertical  and  at  a 
terrific  speed  to  give  the  appearance  that  it 
was  out  of  control.  The  trick  called  for  grit 
— called  for  a  man  who  was  willing  to  take 
his  life  in  his  hands,  because  it  might  easily 
be  that  the  machine  could  not  be  righted  in 
time  and  then 

But  Lieutenant  Brearley  was  willing  to  risk 
all  in  order  to  bring  '  Rupert '  down,  and  the 
machine  slipped  speedily  through  the  air,  drop- 
ping thousands  of  feet  in  an  incredibly  short 
time  to  1500  feet  from  the  ground,  when  it  was 
almost  level  with  the  balloon,  which  was  now 
being  hauled  down. 

Then  the  amazing  thing  happened. 

The  enemy  below  saw  the  apparently 
doomed  machine  suddenly  right  itself  and,  in 
a  flash,  dive  straight  for  the  unwieldy  envelope. 
Too  late  it  was  realized  that  things  were  not 
what  they  seemed  and  that  the  Briton  had 

37 


Thrilling  Deeds 

been  playing  a  trick.  The  guns  opened  out 
immediately,  but  '  Rupert '  was  now  acting 
as  a  shield  to  the  intrepid  airman,  whose 
machine-gun  was  firing  rapidly  upon  it. 

Meanwhile  the  Germans  were  striving  to 
haul  down  their  balloon  before  the  aviator 
could  inflict  deadly  injury  upon  it,  but  as 
he  was  provided  with  an  efficient  weapon  for 
such  an  attack  and  was  no  prentice  hand  at 
the  work,  it  was  not  long  before  Lieutenant 
Brearley  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  ugly 
mass  go  blazing  to  earth,  utterly  destroyed. 

Then,  as  the  official  account  notifying  an 
award  of  the  Mihtary  Cross  for  the  briUiant 
deed  says,  "  he  returned." 


38 


CHAPTER  III 

Some  Fine  British  Raids 

IT  is  an  undisputed  fact  that  the  British 
Flying  Services  have  carried  out  some  of 
the  largest  raids  in  the  course  of  the  war, 
and  there  have  been  so  many  of  them  that  it 
is  impossible  to  describe  every  one  here.  It 
is  worth  remembering  that  these  raids  differed 
from  those  undertaken  by  the  Germans  when 
their  airships  visited  Britain :  our  raids  are 
always  against  places  of  military  importance, 
whereas  the  world  knows  the  object  of  German 
fright  fulness. 

Quite  early  in  the  conflict  our  airmen,  in 
twos  and  threes — and  sometimes  more — went 
on  long-distance  flights,  to  attack  some  im- 
portant point  behind  the  German  lines,  as,  for 
instance,  when  Squadron-Commander  Spenser 
Grey,  and  Lieutenants  S.  V.  Sippe  and  Marix, 
of  the  R.N.A.S.,  on  October  8th,  1914,  sailed 
over  the  airship  shed  at  Diisseldorf,  dropped 
bombs  which  hit  their  mark  and  set  fire  to  the 

39 


Thrilling  Deeds 

shed  and  the  Zeppehn  inside,  as  they  plainly 
saw  by  the  tall  pillar  of  smoke  and  flame  which 
arose  immediately  after  the  bombs  struck. 

Then,  on  November  21st  of  the  same  year, 
there  was  a  daring  aerial  attack  on  the  Zeppelin 
works  at  Friedrichshafen,  on  the  shores  of 
Lake  Constance,  where  Count  Zeppelin  built 
the  giant  gasbags  which  were  to  be  used  on 
murder  raids.  The  flying  men  who  took  part 
in  the  attack  on  the  works  were  Squadron- 
Commander  E.  F.  Briggs,  Flight-Commander 
J.  E.  Babbington,  and  Flight-Lieutenant  S.  V. 
Sippe,  who  set  out  from  an  aerodrome  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Belfort,  their  Avro  machines, 
driven  by  8o-horse-power  Gnomes,  humming 
their  way  up  until  they  were  but  mere  specks 
in  the  sky.  The  course  taken  lay  to  the  north 
of  the  frontier  of  Switzerland,  and  Friedrichs- 
hafen was  sighted  about  midday.  The  suc- 
cess with  which  the  airmen  steered  toward 
their  objective  made  the  Germans  realize  that 
British  aviators  were  not  to  be  despised  as  the 
"  contemptible  little  army  "  had  been  ;  and 
yet,  rather  than  admit  this,  the  enemy  avowed 
that  the  raid  had  only  been  possible  by  reason 

40 


So7ne  Fine  Britisli  Raids 

of  the  fact  that  our  diplomats  in  Switzer- 
land had  improperly  given  information  which 
had  assisted  the  aviators  ;  which  was  another 
German  lie  that  needed  no  refutation.  What 
had  happened  was  that  the  Britons  had  studied 
the  problem  and  had  made  themselves  mas- 
ters of  the  route  they  were  going  to  take,  with 
the  result  that  they  surprised  the  Germans  at 
Friedrichshafen,  who  had  never  expected  such 
an  attack  from  the  air. 

One  of  the  airmen  got  lost  temporarily  in 
a  bank  of  cloud,  but  Commander  Briggs  and 
his  other  companion  dropped  to  the  attack  in 
a  giddy  volplane.  Coming  directly  over  the 
works  they  loosed  their  bombs,  and  the  crash 
of  the  explosions  mingled  with  the  roar  of  firing 
guns,  the  sharp  bark  of  rifles  and  the  tat-tat-tat 
of  machine-guns — all  of  which  the  Germans 
turned  upon  the  daring  aviators,  who  swept 
round  in  wide  circles,  their  planes  riddled  by 
the  bullets.  When  the  third  airman  emerged 
from  the  cloud-bank  he  saw  that  his  commander 
was  in  trouble  :  his  machine  was  di-opping. 
An  unlucky  bullet  had  pierced  the  petrol  tank, 
the  engine  petered  out,  and  the  gallant  pilot 

41 


Thrilling  Deeds 

knew  that  he  would  have  to  descend.  He  kept 
his  head,  however,  and  maintained  control  over 
his  mount  until  he  had  brought  it  to  a  graceful 
landing  near  the  devastated  works.  A  crowd 
of  Germans  immediately  surrounded  him,  and 
their  appearance  was  so  threatening  that  the 
Commander  drew  his  revolver,  thus  keeping 
at  bay  the  angry  foe,  who  did  not  know  that 
the  revolver  was  empty !  In  due  course  a 
German  officer  came  up  and  Commander  Briggs 
surrendered,  not  a  little  mortified  that  his 
successful  attack  should  have  come  to  such 
an  inglorious  end. 

Meanwhile,  his  two  comrades  were  hurrying 
home,  for  the  necessities  of  war  decreed  that 
they  must  leave  the  Commander  to  the  mercy 
of  the  enemy.  "  If  they  had  come  unper- 
ceived,"  wrote  one  who  described  this  affair 
at  the  time,  "  they  were  not  to  leave  the 
country  without  risk.  The  news  of  their 
presence  was  telegraphed  from  town  to  town  ; 
motor-cars  mounting  machine-guns  and  anti- 
aircraft cannon  were  dispatched  at  full  speed 
to  the  most  likely  points ;  observers  were 
specially  detailed  to  watch  the  Swiss  border 

42 


Some  Fine  British  Raids 

and  to  note  whether  these  adventurers  crossed 
the  frontier.  But  such  was  the  extraordinary 
speed  with  which  the  airmen  returned,  that 
scarcely  had  the  news  of  their  arrival  been 
received  than  the  airmen  themselves  were 
over  the  place  to  which  communication  had 
been  made  and  were  out  of  sight  before  any 
effective  step  could  be  taken  to  intercept 
them." 

When  the  airmen  reached  the  flying  ground 
near  Belfort  they  received  a  hearty  and  enthusi- 
astic welcome,  and  later  they  were  decorated 
with  the  Legion  of  Honour. 

Cuxhaven,  the  German  war  port  situate  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Elbe  and  protected 
to  seaward  by  the  great  fortress  of  Heligo- 
land, had  its  first  experience  of  modern  war  on 
the  morning  of  Christmas  Day  1914,  when  a 
number  of  British  seaplanes  appeared  out  of 
the  mist  and  dropped  bombs  upon  its  ship- 
building yards  and  fortifications. 

This  raid,  the  first  that  the  Royal  Naval  Air 
Service  had  undertaken  from  the  sea,  was 
extremely   well    planned.     There   were    seven 

43 


Thrilling  Deeds 

seaplanes,  which  were  borne  out  to  sea  by  two 
new  seaplane  carriers,  one  an  erstwhile  cross- 
Channel  steamer  which  had  been  converted  into 
an  auxiliary  war- vessel.  These  two  ships  were 
escorted  by  several  submarines,  two  destroyer 
flotillas,  and  the  new  light  cruiser  Arethusa, 
which,  before  she  met  with  her  untimely  end  in 
1916,  was  to  add  to  the  many  laurels  gained  by 
the  long  list  of  '  saucy  Arethusas '  in  the  annals 
of  the  British  Navy.  While  on  their  mother- 
ships  the  seaplanes,  which  were  Short  tractors, 
had  their  wings  folded  up  ;  when  the  appointed 
rendezvous  was  reached,  the  machines  were 
lowered  over  the  side  into  the  water,  their 
planes  were  opened,  their  engines  began  to 
roar,  and  having  driven  through  the  water 
the  distance  required  to  get  up  sufficient  speed 
to  allow  of  rising,  up  through  the  mist  they 
soared,  droning  on  their  way  to  their  objective. 
The  seven  pilots  engaged  in  the  dashing  adven- 
ture were  Flight-Commanders  Oliver,  Hewlett, 
Kilner  and  Ross,  Flight-Lieutenants  Miley  and 
Edmonds,  and  FHght-Sub-Lieutenant  Gaskell 
Blackburn,  each  of  whom  was  an  experienced 
airman. 

44 


Some  Fine  British  Raids 

Day  was  just  breaking  when  the  seaplanes 
whirred  upward,  leaving  their  escorts  to  move 
seaward  to  await  their  return  from  what  was 
to  prove  a  hazardous  adventure.  If  the 
British  anticipated  that  they  would  be  un- 
molested they  were  quickly  disillusioned,  for 
not  long  after  the  seaplanes  had  left  their 
mother-ships  a  squadron  of  enemy  'planes, 
accompanied  by  a  Zeppelin,  appeared  and  bore 
down  toward  the  British  machines,  which, 
however,  held  on  their  way,  knowing  that  the 
destroyers  and  the  Arethusa  would  deal  with 
the  coming  foes.  The  Arethusa,  provided  as 
she  was  with  special  anti-aircraft  artillery, 
was  a  formidable  adversary,  as  the  Zeppelin 
soon  discovered,  for,  directly  the  airship  was 
sighted,  the  gunners  on  the  cruiser  opened  fire 
with  such  accuracy  and  at  such  a  rate  that  the 
aerial  monster  was  compelled  to  swing  round 
and  beat  a  hasty  retreat. 

Meanwhile,  the  German  seaplanes,  which 
naturally  did  not  present  such  good  targets 
to  anti-aircraft  guns,  kept  on  their  course 
toward  the  ships,  arrived  over  them,  and 
began  dropping  bombs,  which  fell  so  close  to 

45 


Thrilling  Deeds 

the  vessels  that  on  many  occasions  the  water- 
spouts which  were  flung  up  as  the  result  of 
the  explosions  broke  and  tumbled  in  cascades 
upon  the  decks.  Fortunately,  however,  not  a 
single  bomb  struck  a  ship,  and  the  rapid  gun- 
fire that  was  maintained  rendered  the  situation 
so  uncomfortable  for  the  seaplanes  that  they 
turned  tail  and  made  for  their  base. 

While  this  strange  battle  between  aircraft 
and  seacraft  was  in  progress,  the  British  sea- 
planes were  winging  their  way  through  the 
fog  to  Cuxhaven.  Arrived  there,  they  dropped 
their  bombs  and  did  a  certain  amount  of 
damage,  made  their  observations — which  were 
the  chief  motive  for  the  raid — and  then  swept 
round  and  flew  seaward.  Everything  had  been 
put  upon  a  time  schedule,  which  was  so  accu- 
rately adhered  to  that  even  while  the  enemy 
'planes  were  still  hovering  over  the  British 
destroyers  the  raiders  reappeared.  Some  of 
them  swooped  down  to  the  sea,  and  taxied 
along  the  surface  to  where  they  knew  that 
submarines  were  awaiting  them.  Immediately 
the  conning-tower  of  the  underwater  craft 
appeared  the  nearest  seaplane  came  to  a  stand- 

46 


The  British  Air  Raid  on  Cuxhaven,  Christmas  Day   191 4 


46 


So7ne  Fine  British  Raids 

still,  the  pilot  unstrapped  himself,  and  stood 
ready  with  knife  in  hand  to  rip  up  the  great 
floats  of  his  machine.  When  the  conning-tower 
opened,  and  a  naval  officer  appeared,  the 
destructive  work  was  carried  out  and  the 
seaplane,  costing  over  £1000,  began  to  sink 
rapidly  and  was  almost  submerged  by  the 
time  that  the  pilot  had  been  taken  into  the 
submarine,  which  immediately  dived  beneath 
the  surface.  It  may  seem  a  wasteful  method, 
but  in  war  money  must  be  sacrificed  for  the 
sake  of  that  which  is  more  precious  ;  in  this 
case  the  information  which  the  pilots  had 
gleaned  far  outweighed  in  value  the  cost  of 
the  machines  which  it  had  been  necessary  to 
destroy. 

Four  of  the  pilots  were  rescued  by  submarines 
in  the  manner  described,  but  two  who  returned 
in  the  van  of  their  comrades  alighted  on  the 
surface  near  the  seaplane  carriers,  to  whose 
sides  they  taxied  even  while  the  enemy  aircraft 
were  still  dropping  their  bombs.  It  was  an 
occasion  for  some  prompt  work  on  the  part 
of  the  men  aboard.  To  enable  them  to  pick 
up  the  seaplanes  it  was  necessary  for  the  two 

47 


Thrilling  Deeds 

ships  to  come  to  a  standstill  and  so  render 
themselves  much  better  marks  for  the  enemy 
bombs ;  they  stopped,  nevertheless,  hoists  were 
swung  out,  and  the  machines  were  picked  up 
as  they  taxied  alongside.  A  moment  later 
the  keen-eyed  commanders,  who  were  in 
constant  communication  with  their  engine- 
rooms,  rang  down  for  "  Full  steam  ahead ! " 
the  ships  trembled  to  the  thrust  of  their 
engines,  then  leapt  through  the  water,  making 
for  home. 

There  was  one  thing  that  marred  the  success 
of  the  enterprise,  and  that  was  that  only  six 
out  of  the  seven  intrepid  pilots  had  been 
picked  up,  and  the  escorting  vessels,  knowing 
how  risky  it  was  to  linger,  had  to  steam  away 
without  the  missing  aviator.  This  was  Flight- 
Commander  Hewlett,  who,  as  it  afterward 
transpired,  had  an  exceedingly  adventurous 
time.  The  thick  fog  which  enveloped  the 
seaplanes  greatly  bothered  Hewlett,  and  he 
lost  his  way,  although  after  a  long  time  he 
succeeded  in  reaching  Cuxhaven.  Arriving  as 
he  did  after  his  comrades  had  left,  he  natu- 
railly  received  a  very  warm  welcome  from  the 

48 


Some  Fine  British  Raids 

Germans,  who  were  now  on  the  qui  vive,  not 
knowing  whether  more  of  the  darmg  airmen 
would  appear.  To  make  matters  worse,  the 
Fhght-Commander,  owing  to  the  fog,  had  to 
fly  low,  so  low,  in  fact,  that  as  he  swept  over 
the  war  port  he  almost  touched  the  tall  masts 
of  the  ships  lying  at  anchor  in  the  harbour. 

As  soon  as  he  had  located  his  position,  Hew- 
lett set  his  machine  to  climb  out  of  danger, 
dropping  bombs  as  he  went,  and  followed  by 
a  perfect  hail  of  shells  from  every  anti-aircraft 
gun  within  range.  He  knew  that  at  any 
moment  his  upward  sweep  might  be  changed 
into  a  plunge  to  death,  and  the  firing  was  so 
vigorous  that  he  quite  expected  this  to  happen. 
Fortunately,  how^ever,  either  the  German 
gunners  were  bad  marksmen  or  else  the  fog 
which  had  baffled  the  airman  was  now  inter- 
fering with  the  aim  of  the  artillery-men; 
whatever  the  reason,  no  shell  touched  Hewlett's 
machine  and  no  bullet  found  a  resting-place  in 
his  body.  Up  and  still  up,  and  headed  sea- 
ward, the  seaplane  flew,  and  the  Commander 
was  beginning  to  think  that  the  Fates  were  not 
altogether  unkind  when  something  went  wrong 
D  49 


Thrilling  Deeds 

with  his  engine,  which  began  to  back-fire  and 
ultimately  stopped. 

This  was  indeed  a  tragedy.  Commander 
Hewlett's  one  hope  was  that  he  might  not 
have  missed  the  escort.  As  he  planed  down 
to  the  grey,  tossing  sea,  he  scanned  the  horizon 
in  search  of  a  friendly  ship,  but  none  appeared, 
and  he  realized  that,  not  having  kept  to  the 
scheduled  time,  he  had  had  to  be  left  by  the 
destroyers. 

When  his  floats  touched  water  the  airman 
was  in  anything  but  a  comfortable  frame  of 
mind.  Neither  of  the  possible  alternatives — 
one  of  which  was  that  he  might  stay  there 
until  the  floats  became  so  water-logged  that 
they  would  not  support  the  machine,  in  which 
case  he  would  be  drowned,  and  the  other  that 
an  enemy  ship  might  appear  and  take  him 
prisoner — was  at  all  cheering.  It  was  all 
very  disappointing,  after  having  escaped  from 
the  inferno  of  Cuxhaven  ! 

The  airman,  sitting  in  his  machine  and  rocked 
to  and  fro  at  the  bidding  of  the  wind  and 
waves,  peered  for  a  long  and  weary  time 
through   the  mist,   hoping   against  hope  that 

50 


Sonic  Fine  British  Raids 

he  might  be  rescued.  When  he  had  almost 
ceased  to  expect  succour,  the  dark  bows  of  a 
trawler  appeared  out  of  the  mist,  scattering 
the  spray  as  she  came.  The  stranded  airman 
on  the  derelict  seaplane — for  by  this  time  the 
machine  was  in  a  sorry  plight — signalled  for 
help ;  happily  the  look-out  on  the  trawler 
saw  him,  and  the  vessel  bore  down  upon  the 
spot.  The  trawler  proved  to  be  Dutch,  which 
from  Hewlett's  point  of  view  was  not  so  good 
as  if  it  had  been  British,  but  by  no  means  so 
bad  as  if  it  had  been  German. 

It  did  not  take  long  to  make  the  trawler's 
captain  understand  what  had  happened,  and, 
having  scuttled  his  machine,  Hewlett  was 
taken  on  board  the  fishing  vessel  and  carried 
to  Holland. 

The  fact  of  his  being  taken  into  Holland 
raised  a  question  of  international  law,  which 
has  laid  it  down  that  any  member  of  the 
fighting  services  of  a  belligerent  nation  taking 
refuge  in  a  neutral  country  shall  be  interned 
during  the  progress  of  the  war.  Commander 
Hewlett,  however,  set  up  the  plea  that  this 
law  did  not  apply  to  him,  because  he  was  a 

51 


Thrilling  Deeds 

shipwrecked  mariner  who  had  been  rescued 
out  at  sea.  There  was,  of  course,  much 
argument,  but  in  the  end  the  airman's  plea 
was  accepted,  he  was  released,  and  in  due 
course  returned  to  England. 

Thus  every  one  of  the  daring  raiders  returned 
safely,  and,  considering  how  successful  they 
had  been  both  in  bombing  and  in  gathering 
information,  the  raid  on  Cuxhaven  may  be  said 
to  have  been  a  complete  triumph. 

What  was  at  that  date  probably  the  longest 
official  report  of  one  exploit  in  the  air  was 
that  which  was  issued  by  the  Admiralty  deal- 
ing with  a  very  satisfactory  raid  on  February 
nth,  1915. 

"  During  the  last  twenty-four  hours,"  the 
report  ran,  "  combined  aeroplane  and  seaplane 
operations  have  been  carried  out  by  the  Naval 
Wing  in  the  Bruges,  Zeebrugge,  Blanken- 
berghe  and  Ostend  districts,  with  a  view  to 
preventing  the  development  of  submarine  bases 
and  establishments. 

"  Thirty-four  naval  aeroplanes  and  seaplanes 
took  part. 

52 


Some  Fine  British  Raids 

"  Great  damage  is  reported  to  have  been 
done  to  Ostend  Railway  Station,  which,  ac- 
cording to  present  information,  has  probably 
been  burnt  to  the  ground.  The  railway  station 
at  Blankenberghe  was  damaged  and  railway 
lines  were  torn  up  in  many  places.  Bombs 
were  dropped  on  gun  positions  at  Middelkerke, 
also  on  the  power-station  and  German  mine- 
sweeping  vessels  at  Zeebrugge,  but  the  damage 
is  unknown. 

"  During  the  attack  the  machines  encountered 
heavy  banks  of  snow. 

"  No  submarines  were  seen. 

"  Flight-Commander  Grahame- White  fell  into 
the  sea  off  Nieuport  and  was  rescued  by  a  French 
vessel. 

"  Although  exposed  to  heavy  gun-fire  from 
rifles,  anti-aircraft  guns,  mitrailleuses,  etc., 
all  pilots  are  safe.  Two  machines  were 
damaged. 

"  The  seaplanes  and  aeroplanes  were  under 
the  command  of  Wing-Commander  Samson, 
assisted  by  Wing-Commander  Longmore  and 
Squadron-Commanders  Porte,  Courtney,  and 
Rathbone." 

53 


Thrilling  Deeds 

The  very  length  of  that  communique  suggests 
that  the  operations  were  on  a  large  scale  and 
regarded  as  important,  while  behind  the  official 
language  there  is  hidden  a  thrilling  story, 
which  will  some  day  be  told  in  full.  Mean- 
while, we  have  only  glimpses,  the  best  of 
which  is  that  given  in  a  letter  from  Flight- 
Lieutenant  Harold  Rosher,  R.N.A.S.,  who  took 
part  in  the  raid. 

The  machines  left  their  base  on  Wednesday 
morning,  the  loth  of  February,  at  intervals 
of  two  minutes,  the  slowest  machines  going 
first.  Driving  into  the  mist  they  hummed 
across  the  Channel,  with  an  escort  of  destroyers 
below.  The  farther  they  went  the  denser  the 
mist  became,  the  clouds  were  very  heavy, 
and  they  ran  into  a  driving  snow-storm  which 
utterly  baffled  them.  The  aviators  had  in- 
structions to  land  at  Dunkirk  if  the  weather 
conditions  were  such  that  they  could  not  reach 
their  objectives,  and  when  they  arrived  off 
the  French  coast  it  was  evident  to  all  of  them 
that  it  would  be  Dunkirk  for  that  day,  what- 
ever the  morrow  might  bring  forth.  They  did 
not  give  in  without  a  struggle,  however,  and 

54 


So7ne  Fine  British  Raids 

pushed  along  the  coast  until  it  was  impos- 
sible and  imprudent  to  proceed  any  farther. 
Grahame-White,  as  we  have  seen,  had  to 
come  down  in  the  sea,  where  he  waited  in  his 
machine  until  he  was  picked  up.  It  had  been 
a  most  exciting  trip  across  Channel,  even 
although  a  disheartening  one.  Flight-Lieuten- 
ant  Rosher's  experience  was  probably  typical 
of  many  others.  "  The  clouds  got  thicker 
and  my  compass  became  useless,  swinging  round 
and  round,"  he  wrote.  "  I  was  about  7000 
feet  up  and  absolutely  lost.  The  next  thing 
I  realized  was  that  my  speed-indicator  had 
rushed  up  to  ninety  miles  an  hour  and  the 
wind  was  fairly  whistling  through  the  wires. 
I  pulled  her  up,  but  had  quite  lost  control. 

"  A  hair-raising  experience  followed.  I  nose- 
dived, side-slipped,  stalled  [lost  speed],  etc. 
etc.,  time  after  time,  my  speed  varying  from 
practically  nothing  up  to  over  100  miles  an 
hour.  I  kept  my  head,  but  was  absolutely 
scared  stiff.  I  didn't  get  out  of  the  clouds, 
which  lower  down  turned  into  a  snow-storm 
and  hail,  until  I  was  only  1500  feet  up.  I 
came  out  diving  headlong  for  the  earth." 

55 


Thrilling  Deeds 

By  brilliant  skill  the  aviator  righted  his 
machine,  and  he  tried  his  utmost  to  get  out 
of  the  snow-storm,  skirt  it  and  drive  inland. 
Failing  in  this  he  then  endeavoured  to  get 
beneath  the  storm,  but  was  again  unsuccessful. 
Realizing  at  last  that  he  could  not  hope  to 
accomplish  his  purpose  he  turned  back  for 
Dunkirk,  where  he  found  the  rest  of  the  party 
except  one,  presumably  Grahame-White. 

It  was  a  crowd  of  pretty  '  sick  '  aviators 
which  assembled  at  Dunkirk  that  day,  but 
all  were  determined  that  the  Germans  should 
feel  the  weight  of  the  bombs  which  had  been 
brought  over  for  their  especial  benefit,  and 
early  the  following  morning  the  airmen  were 
ready  to  take  up  the  interrupted  task.  It 
was  dark  and  misty  and  cloudy  when  the 
machines  ascended  and  set  out  seaward  to  get 
as  far  off  the  shore  as  possible  and  thus  be 
out  of  range  of  the  anti-aircraft  batteries, 
which  began  a  wild  song  of  hate  as  soon  as  the 
droning  of  the  engines  was  heard  below.  At 
Ostend  the  raiders  were  bombarded  from 
scores  of  guns,  but  this  did  not  prevent  them 
loosing   their    destructive   missiles,   and   they 

56 


Some  Fine  British  Raids 

sailed  on,  leaving  a  trail  of  disaster  behind. 
Flight-Licutenant  Rosher  was  among  the  party 
bound  for  Zeebrugge,  and  when  they  arrived 
there,  the  cloud-banks  were  so  low  that  they 
had  to  let  go  their  bombs  when  at  a  height 
of  only  5500  feet.  This,  of  course,  gave  the  Ger- 
mans a  great  opportunity,  and  their  shrapnel 
burst  all  around,  fortunately,  however,  without 
result.  The  shipping  in  the  docks  was  struck 
by  the  British  bombs,  and  the  power-station 
burst  into  flame  as  the  aviators  winged  their 
way  across,  and  so  out  to  sea. 

Considering  that  the  German  gunners,  who 
had  had  a  good  deal  of  experience  against  our 
raiding  machines,  were,  as  Lieutenant  Rosher 
said,  hitting  at  8000  feet  and  reckoned  on 
getting  every  third  shot  home,  it  says  much 
for  the  skill  of  the  British  pilots  that  they  all 
returned  safely,  well  pleased  with  themselves 
at  having  given  the  enemy  something  to 
remember.  But  in  case  they  might  forget, 
on  February  i6th,  the  Naval  Wing  returned 
and  distributed  a  plentiful  supply  of  bombs 
over  very  much  the  same  area  as  before.  In 
this    great    raid    there    were    forty    machines 

57 


Thrilling  Deeds 

engaged,  the  Ostend  and  Middelkerke  batteries 
were  bombed,  transport  wagons  on  the  Ostend- 
Ghistelles  road  were  shattered,  the  mole  and 
locks  of  Zeebrugge  were  further  damaged,  and 
the  shipping  off  Blankenberghe  and  Zeebrugge 
suffered  heavily. 

While  the  British  aviators  were  thus  engaged 
on  these  points  of  importance,  eight  French 
machines,  together  with  some  British  naval 
'planes,  swooped  over  to  the  Ghistelles  aero- 
drome, on  which  they  made  a  vigorous  attack, 
so  keeping  the  German  airmen  too  busily  em- 
ployed to  allow  them  to  wing  their  way  coast- 
ward  to  cut  off  the  raiders,  some  of  whom, 
nevertheless,  fell  victims  to  the  enemy. 

One  of  the  largest  raids  undertaken  by 
British  machines  was  that  on  March  i8th,  1916, 
when  fifty  British  machines  attacked  the 
German  aerodrome  near  Ostend  and  the  sub- 
marine base  at  Zeebrugge.  Had  it  been  day- 
light when  the  raiders  started  there  would 
have  been  a  rare  sight  for  spectators  as  the 
fifty  machines  spluttered  their  way  over  the 
flying  ground  and  bounded  up  into  the  air 

58 


Some  Fine  British  Raids 

one  after  the  other.  It  was  night,  however 
and  nothing  was  to  be  seen  except  the  occasional 
flash  as  pilots  switched  on  their  torches  to 
indicate  to  comrades  the  direction  being  taken. 
With  these  intermittent  Hghts  to  guide  them 
the  squadron  formed  into  a  V-shaped  flight, 
with  the  bombing  machines  tucked  in  the 
centre  and  the  fighting  Moranes  on  the  flanks, 
ready  to  tackle  any  enemy  'planes  which  might 
endeavour  to  head  off  the  raiders. 

The  airmen  sped  over  the  dunes,  with  the 
sea  gleaming  below  them  and  the  subdued 
lights  of  Ostend  in  the  distance  ahead,  and 
in  due  course  divided  into  two  parties,  one 
making  for  Ostend,  the  other  stealing  through 
the  night  toward  Zeebrugge.  The  attack  on 
Ostend  came  as  a  complete  surprise  to  the 
Germans  there,  and  the  aeroplane  hangar 
felt  the  force  of  British  explosives :  re- 
sounding roars  came  to  the  airmen,  who  saw 
the  flames  belching  from  hangar  and  store- 
houses. The  German  flying  men,  taken  by 
surprise,  dashed  for  cover,  leaving  their  aero- 
planes burning  merrily. 

Meanwhile,   the  Zeebrugge  party    had   also 

59 


Thrillinor  Deeds 


<b 


reached  their  objective,  having  safely  passed 
the  anti-aircraft  batteries,  with  whose  positions 
they  were  conversant,  seeing  that  all  the  pilots 
had  made  a  careful  study  of  the  stretch  of 
coast  over  which  they  had  flown,  and  knew 
just  where  the  batteries  were  placed.  In  the 
docks  at  Zeebrugge  were  many  German 
destroyers  and  submarines,  and  at  the  first 
crash  of  exploding  bombs  something  in  the 
nature  of  a  panic  ensued.  Destroyers  hurried 
out  to  sea,  where  monitors  awaited  them ; 
submarines  dived  quickly  to  escape  the  falling 
bombs  ;  soldiers  and  marines  on  shore  darted 
for  cover,  although  many  of  them — two  hundred, 
it  was  reckoned  at  the  time — were  killed. 
It  was  a  scene  of  terror  for  the  Germans  ;  the 
bombs  fell  in  quick  succession  as  the  aeroplanes 
followed  one  another  over  the  docks,  and  so 
far  as  could  be  gathered  afterward  a  tremen- 
dous amount  of  damage  was  done,  which  is 
not  surprising,  considering  that  during  the  raid 
on  the  naval  base  and  aerodrome  some  ten 
thousand  pounds  of  high  explosives  were 
distributed !  The  men  who  took  part  were 
to    be    congratulated    upon    the    effectiveness 

60 


Sonic  Fine  Bi^itish  Raids 

of  their  work,  and  it  was  probably  due  to  the 
important  results  achieved  that  a  week  later 
the  attempt  was  made  upon  the  Zeppelin 
bases  on  the  Sylt  island,  off  Schleswig-Holstein, 
of  which  we  have  to  tell  in  Chapter  VI. 

We  have  by  no  means  exhausted  the  list 
of  important  raids,  but  the  instances  given  are 
more  or  less  typical  of  most  of  the  others. 
Sometimes  all  the  aviators  returned,  at  others 
some  were  brought  down  or  had  to  descend 
through  engine  trouble  ;  in  nearly  every  case, 
however,  the  raiders  succeeded  in  their  purpose, 
while  the  constant  harassing  of  the  enemy  at 
strategic  and  important  points  served  to  keep 
him  in  mind  of  the  efficiency  of  the  British 
Flying  Services. 


6i 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  Phick  of  Major  Brabazon  Rees 

THE  '  wasp '  hummed  through  the  air, 
and  the  goggled  pilot,  engaged  on 
work  which  ought  to  go  through 
without  interruption,  scanned  the  surrounding 
space  for  signs  of  possible  foes.  Finding  none, 
he  took  in  all  details  that  he  could  of  what 
was  going  on  below.  It  seemed  that  the  trip 
was  going  to  be  a  fairly  comfortable  one,  a 
*  joy-ride  '  almost,  and  Major  Lionel  Wilmot 
Brabazon  Rees,  R.A.,  R.F.C.,  was  not  at  all 
worried.  The  calmness,  however,  was  destined 
to  be  disturbed  suddenly  by  one  of  those  ter- 
rific events  which  take  place  so  unexpectedly 
in  the  air. 

Far  off,  in  the  misty  distance,  driving  toward 
the  British  lines,  there  presently  appeared  a 
little  bunch  of  black  spots  which,  to  any  but 
a  man  whose  eyes  had  been  trained  to  see, 
might  have  been  taken,  perhaps,  for  the 
dancing,  mocking  dots  which  are  to  many  the 

62 


The  Phtck  of  Major  Brabazon  Rees 

signs  of  indigestion  ;  but  Major  Rees,  practised 
aviator  as  he  was,  who  had  fought  and  won 
many  an  aerial  duel,  knew  that  those  black 
spots  were  aeroplanes. 

EarHer  in  the  day,  as  the  Major  knew,  a 
party  of  British  fliers  had  droned  over  the 
German  lines  to  harass  enemy  communications, 
and,  as  far  as  he  knew,  had  not  returned. 

The  appearance  of  the  darting  black  spots 
in  the  direction  from  which  the  raiders  would 
come  on  their  return  caused  Major  Rees  to 
believe  that  they  were  the  homing  birds  of  the 
Flying  Corps,  and  as  there  was  little  else  doing 
just  then,  the  gallant  and  courteous  pilot  let 
his  engine  all  out  and  went  up  to  meet  the 
approaching  machines,  intending  to  escort 
them  home,  and,  if  necessary,  to  fight  off  any 
Germans  who  ventured  to  try  to  intercept 
them. 

Then  Major  Rees  made  a  startling  discovery  : 
the  gradually  approaching  dots  resolved  them- 
selves into  no  fewer  than  ten  machines  driving 
along  in  good  formation,  and,  to  the  surprise 
of  the  Major,  when  they  were  close  enough 
to   be    distinguished    through   his   binoculars, 

63 


Thrilling  Deeds 

he  saw  on  their  wings,  not  the  tricoloured 
circle  of  the  Alhes,  but  the  sinister  black  cross 
of  the  Hun. 

And  those  ten  machines,  the  pilots  of  which 
had  sighted  the  lonely  patrol,  were  opening 
out  as  they  came  in  order  to  surround  him 
from  above  and  below,  from  front  and  rear, 
from  left  side  and  right  side. 

The  gallant  Major,  when  he  discovered  his 
mistake,  did  not  bank  and  go  swinging  round 
for  home,  but  went  boldly  forward,  to  join 
issue  with  the  foremost  of  the  enemy.  The 
machines  met,  and  while  the  remainder  of  the 
foe  were  flying  like  carrion  crows  to  the  feast, 
the  two  fought  out  a  light  which,  although 
short,  was  bitter  and  fierce.  The  vicious 
Lewis  gun  barked  in  anger  at  the  Nordenfeldt, 
and  a  hail  of  shots  spattered  through  the  rival 
machines  and  made  grim  music,  which  each 
of  the  aviators  knew  might  end  in  the  crash 
of  a  grande  finale. 

With  a  roar.  Major  Rees'  machine  swept 
under  the  German,  followed  a  sharp  wheel, 
and  the  Britisher  was  mounting  to  the  attack 
again,  to  be  in  turn  sprayed  by  a  stream  of 

64 


fe^-. 


V 


.  ^A,' 


The  R.F.C.  at  Work 

Aerial  action  at  an  altitude  of  two  and  a  quarter  miles  between  four 

British  machines  and  nine  German 


H 


The  Pluck  of  Major  Brabazon  Rees 

bullets.  In  this  manner  for  a  brief  space  of 
time,  into  which  was  crowded  all  the  terror 
of  aerial  fighting,  the  '  scrap '  went  on,  until 
Major  Rees  realized  that  his  opponent's  fire 
had  slackened,  whereupon,  driving  into  him, 
he  sent  the  Hun  diving  to  the  ground,  not 
mortally  wounded,  but  so  badl}^  mauled  that 
it  was  impossible  for  him  to  continue  the 
fight. 

So  rapidly  had  the  conflict  been  waged  and 
ended  that  it  was  all  over  and  the  German 
was  slipping  down  the  dizzy  heights  before 
his  companions  could  get  near  enough  to  give 
much  assistance.  As  it  was,  when  they  saw 
the  phght  of  their  comrade,  five  of  them,  while 
yet  at  a  long  range,  opened  fire  with  their 
machine-guns,  and  five  hail-storms  seemed  to 
break  upon  the  British  pilot's  machine. 

Major  Rees,  scorning  to  fly  from  even  such 
superior  numbers,  sailed  into  closer  quarters, 
singled  out  a  foe,  and  after  another  stiff,  sharp 
fight  drove  him  off,  then  turned  upon  another 
and  treated  him  in  a  similar  way. 

Such  doughty  fighting,  whirlwind  tactics  of 
a  sort  that  enabled  the  British  pilot  to  fight 
E  65 


Thrilling  Deeds 

and  conquer  and  come  up  again,  completely 
demoralized  the  other  three  Germans,  who, 
thinking  discretion  the  better  part  of  valour, 
now  scattered  and  made  off,  bent  upon  getting 
out  of  range  of  the  British  fire-eater. 

Major  Rees,  his  machine  showing  many  signs 
of  the  mauling  it  had  received,  breathed  more 
freely  when  he  saw  his  enemies  beating  their 
retreat.  Not  that  he  was  afraid,  but  the 
respite  gave  him  a  breathing  space  in  which 
to  see  what  damage  had  been  done  to  his 
machine.  He  found  that  it  was  still  workable 
and  under  control,  for  which  he  was  glad, 
because  westward  he  could  see  a  couple  of 
cross-marked  aeroplanes  going  full  out,  and 
being  in  fighting  mood.  Major  Rees  hurried 
on  their  trail. 

The  German  aviators  swung  round  the 
nozzles  of  their  snappy  little  weapons,  to  point 
clear  at  the  Britisher,  who,  with  his  own  Lewis 
unshipped,  was  rapidly  coming  up.  The  two 
streams  of  shot  whistled  through  the  air  and 
the  Germans'  bullets  broke  upon  and  through 
the  Major's  nacelle  and  wings.  One  of  the 
Germans,    when    the    distance    had    lessened, 

66 


The  Phtcic  of  Major  Brabazon  Rces 

succeeded  in  getting  into  an  advantageous 
position — a  momentary  advantage,  but  yet 
just  enough  for  what  he  had  in  mind  :  his 
machine-gun  kept  up  its  staccato  rat-tat,  and 
some  of  the  bullets  plugged  their  way  into  his 
adversary's  thigh.  Under  the  shock  of  the 
impact  Major  Rees  temporarily  lost  control. 
His  machine  slipped  in  the  way  that  aeroplanes 
do  when  the  guiding  brain  no  longer  controls 
them,  made  a  quick  dart  forward,  and  then 
fell  sheer  down  at  a  terrifying  speed. 

It  seemed  that  there  was  nothing  but 
disaster  awaiting  Major  Rees. 

In  such  moments  everything  depends  upon 
the  man,  and  in  this  case  the  man  was  not 
found  wanting.  Faint  from  loss  of  blood, 
with  a  sharp  stinging  pain  in  his  thigh,  and 
with  the  knowledge  that  unless  he  acted 
promptly  and  coolly  he  would  be  dashed  to 
death  below,  Major  Rees,  while  the  machine 
spun,  succeeded  by  a  miraculous  effort  in 
getting  the  'plane  in  hand  once  more.  There 
was  quick  work  with  the  '  joy-stick  '  and  rudder- 
bar,  and  suddenly  the  machine,  which  a  second 
before  seemed  doomed,  had  righted  itself  and 

67 


Thrilling  Deeds 

was  going  on,  and,  wonder  of  wonders — its 
pilot  was  driving  for  his  foes  ! 

Close  in  he  drove  his  'plane,  so  close  that 
only  a  few  yards  separated  the  combatants, 
and  the  Major  could  see  the  begoggled  faces  of 
the  Germans.  At  this  close  range  Major  Rees 
expended  his  ammunition,  drum  after  drum, 
until  at  last  not  a  bullet  remained. 

"  Then,"  says  the  report  which  notified  the 
award  of  the  Victoria  Cross  to  him,  "  he 
returned  home,  landing  his  machine  safely 
in  our  lines." 

Already,  before  this,  Major  Rees  had  made 
for  himself  a  reputation  in  the  service.  As 
early  as  September  21st,  1915,  he  had  performed 
a  deed  which,  among  others,  won  for  him 
the  M.C.  He  was  flying  a  one-gunned  aero- 
plane, with  Flight  -  Sergeant  Hargreaves  as 
companion,  when  he  saw  2000  feet  beneath 
him  a  very  large  German  machine,  mounting 
two  machine-guns.  The  Hun  'plane  was 
sweeping  along  at  a  terrific  rate,  and  Major 
Rees — or  as  he  was  then.  Captain  Rees — knew 
that  so  far  as  speed  was  concerned,  the  enemy 
had  the  advantage  of  him.     Such  trifles,  how- 

68 


Tlie  Phtck  of  Major  Brahazon  Rees 

ever,  do  not  worry  the  men  who  gained  from 
Sir  John  French  the  eulogy  that  they  had  won 
the  supremacy  of  the  air.  The  Major  went 
down  in  a  fine  spiral  and  then  dived  at  the 
foe — firing  his  gun  as  he  did  so  and  rattling 
bullets  upon  the  German  aeroplane,  which, 
however,  being  so  much  faster  was  able  to 
evade  the  down-rushing  Britisher.  Before  the 
pilot  could  right  his  machine,  the  German 
had  banked,  turned  and  come  up  so  sharply 
that  he  could  get  his  antagonist  broadside  on. 
Instantly  the  machine-guns  opened  fire  and  a 
hurricane  of  bullets  swept  Major  Rees'  machine. 
The  British  gun  was  not  idle,  however,  and 
it  answered  the  enemy  in  its  own  way,  answered 
so  effectively  that  Major  Rees,  handling  his 
machine  with  remarkable  skill  and  cool-headed- 
ness,  suddenly  saw  the  German  make  a  sharp 
turn  and  glide  away.  One  of  the  nickel 
pellets  had  delivered  its  message  somewhere 
in  the  enemy's  engine,  and  the  great  'plane, 
apparently  uncontrollable  for  fighting  purposes, 
went  gliding  down,  to  land  eventually  just 
behind  the  German  lines  near  Herbecourt. 
On    another    occasion    the    gallant     Major 

69 


Thrilling  Deeds 

attacked  a  hostile  aeroplane  and  a  dramatic, 
hard-hitting  fight  took  place.  The  foes  were 
well  matched  in  courage,  and  neither  would 
admit  defeat  for  some  time.  Major  Rees, 
with  one  main  spar  of  his  machine  shot  through, 
fought  on  with  the  proverbial  courage  of  the 
Briton  and  battered  his  enemy  unmercifully. 
Not  even  when  the  stream  of  bullets  from  the 
German  partly  shattered  a  rear  spar  did  the 
Major  give  up,  but,  persisting  in  his  attack 
and  drawing  in  closer  than  ever,  to  make  sure 
of  effective  firing,  he  succeeded  in  driving 
the  enemy  down. 

A  third  enemy  machine  suffered  as  sadly 
at  the  hands  of  Major  Rees  and  his  companion, 
Flight-Sergeant  Hargreaves.  The  Hun  was  no 
mean  antagonist,  but  a  large,  speedy  fighting 
machine,  far  more  powerful  than  that  piloted 
by  the  Briton,  who,  however,  sailed  into  the 
'  scrap,'  driving  up,  diving,  banking,  turning, 
and  so  on,  all  the  time  letting  the  German 
have  full  benefit  of  the  Lewis  gun.  For  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  the  fight  went  on,  until, 
the  last  drum  having  been  expended.  Major 
Rees  flew  away. 

70 


Tlie  Pluck  of  Major  Brabazon  Rees 

The  Germans  must  have  felt  very  pleased 
that  they  had  succeeded  in  drivmg  off  so 
stubborn  an  adversary,  and  never  doubting 
but  that  they  had  seen  the  last  of  him,  they 
climbed  aloft,  looking  for  more  victories. 

They  did  not  know  that  Major  Rees  had  gone 
to  his  aerodrome,  not  to  take  his  ease  after  a 
brilliant  fight,  but  to  replenish  his  stock  of 
ammunition.  They  were  soon  to  learn,  how- 
ever, for  back  he  now  came  with  all  the  speed 
he  could  get  out  of  his  engine.  A  strenuous 
encounter  followed,  and  this  time  the  Major 
was  one  too  many  for  his  antagonist,  for  soon 
the  German  machine  went  sliding  down  the 
unseen  precipices,  to  crash  into  the  unyielding 
ground  below. 


71 


CHAPTER  V 

The  End  of  the  ''Konigsberg'' 

THE  credit  for  making  possible  the 
destruction  of  the  German  raiding 
Hght  cruiser  Kdnigsherg,  without  un- 
due loss  to  ourselves,  belongs  to  the  men  of 
the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service.  When  the  war 
began  the  Konigsberg  was  at  Dar-es-Salaam, 
and,  acting  upon  orders  given  long  before, 
no  doubt,  she  at  once  commenced  operations 
against  British  shipping  on  the  east  coast  of 
Africa.  Among  her  exploits  was  a  sudden 
attack  on  the  obsolete  British  cruiser  Pegasus, 
which,  some  time  previously,  had  bombarded 
Dar-es-Salaam  and  then  put  in  at  Zanzibar 
to  see  to  her  rusty  old  boilers  and  generally 
tinker  up  before  undertaking  further  work. 
The  Pegasus  never  made  another  voyage,  how- 
ever, for  on  September  19th,  1914,  while  she 
was  still  under  repair,  a  scathing  bombardment 
was  opened  upon  her,  and  her  commander, 
looking  seaward,  saw  what  he  recognized  to 

72 


The  End  of  the  ''Konigsherg' 

be  the  Kdnigshcrg,  belching  flame  from  every 
gun  she  could  bring  to  bear.  The  poor  old 
Pegasus  could  not  reply  to  any  effect  because 
her  assailant  was  well  out  of  range  of  her  guns. 
The  conclusion  was  foregone  and  the  Kdnigs- 
berg,  having  wreaked  her  evil  will  upon  the 
old  cruiser,  steamed  away.  But  there  had 
been  some  fine  heroism  on  board  the  Pegasus, 
only  one  example  of  which  we  have  space  to 
mention  here.  This  was  the  conduct  of  certain 
of  the  crew  who,  seeing  their  ensign  shot 
away  from  the  halyards,  promptly  made  a  rush 
for  it,  and,  there  being  no  other  available 
means  of  restoring  it,  held  it  aloft  in  their 
hands,  waving  it  jauntily  in  the  most  exposed 
place,  so  that  the  enemy  should  be  under  no 
misapprehension  but  that  the  outclassed  little 
vessel  would  go  down  with  her  flag  fl^^ing. 

Some  six  weeks  later,  Nemesis,  which  had 
been  on  the  track  of  the  raider,  caught  her 
up  in  the  shape  of  H.M.S.  Chatham,  which  dis- 
covered the  German  hiding  in  the  Rufiji  River, 
opposite  Mafia  Island,  in  German  East  Africa, 
later  to  be  wrested  from  the  Kaiser  by  the 
gallant  South  Africans  under  General  Smuts. 

73 


Thrilling  Deeds 

The  rest  of  the  story  reads  Hke  a  romance 
from  the  pages  of  Marryat — with  differences ! 
The  British  officer  in  command  of  the  opera- 
tions sank  a  German  Hner  in  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  to  prevent  the  raider  from  escaping, 
and  then  began  sheUing  the  cruiser.  The 
Konigsberg,  however,  managed  to  get  out  of 
range,  and,  in  order  more  securely  to  bottle 
her  up,  a  fairly  large  vessel,  the  collier  New- 
bridge, was  sent  up  river  toward  the  island 
on  which  the  German  seamen  had  meantime 
entrenched  themselves,  with  machine-guns  and 
quick-firing  guns  for  artillery.  It  was  but  poetic 
justice  that  Lieutenant  Lavington,  an  officer 
who  had  been  attached  to  the  old  Pegasus, 
should  be  placed  in  command  of  the  Newbridge 
when  she  steamed  up  river  on  her  hazardous 
mission.  The  collier  was  to  be  scuttled  when 
she  reached  a  position  where  her  presence 
below  the  surface  would  effectually  block  the 
channel. 

Lieutenant  Lavington  piloted  his  craft  skil- 
fully, and  passing  the  fortified  island,  from 
which  the  entrenched  Germans  opened  fire 
upon  him,  came  to  the  appointed  spot.     The 

74 


The  End  of  t lie  '' Konigsberg'' 

collier  was  then  swung  broadside  across  the 
channel  and  water  was  let  into  her  port  tank 
so  that  she  took  a  list  to  stern,  thus  offering 
great  resistance  to  the  four-knot  current  run- 
ning. This  operation  having  been  successfully 
achieved,  the  crew  jumped  for  the  steam 
launches  which  had  followed  in  the  wake  of 
the  Newbridge  to  take  them  back ;  buttons 
which  connected  electric  wires  with  three 
charges  of  gun-cotton  placed  in  the  hold  were 
pressed ;  there  followed  three  terrific  explo- 
sions, and  the  coUier  began  to  settle  down  to 
her  last  resting-place. 

On  the  way  back  down  river  the  gallant 
bluejackets  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the 
entrenched  foe,  who  were  using  dum-dum 
bullets.  There  were  a  number  of  casualties, 
but  the  majority  of  the  men  succeeded  in 
getting  back  unscathed  to  the  waiting  warships 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

Although  she  was  not  disposed  of  until  the 
following  July,  the  Konigsberg's  days  were 
numbered.  To  effect  her  final  destruction 
elaborate  preparations  were  made,  but  they 
were  worth  while.     Two  of  the  monitors,  the 

75 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Severn  and  the  Mersey,  which  had  been  built 
for  operations  in  shallow  waters,  were  sent 
over  to  East  Africa,  together  with  a  number 
of  Royal  Naval  Air  Service  men  and  their 
machines.  Headquarters  were  established  at 
Mafia,  from  which  place  aerial  observers  went 
up  to  take  notes  of  the  exact  position  of  the 
Konigsherg  in  order  that  the  monitors  might 
be  able  to  get  the  range. 

To  the  man  who  knows  nothing  about 
atmospheric  conditions  and  their  effect  upon 
aircraft,  it  may  not  seem  a  more  hazardous 
venture  to  go  up  in  East  Africa  than  to  do  so 
in  Western  Europe,  but  the  truth  is  that  there 
is  a  vast  difference.  For  instance,  it  is  on 
record  that  a  German  aviator  in  South-west 
Africa  could  only  fly  over  the  Union  camps 
at  certain  times  of  the  day  because  of  the 
effect  of  the  heat  upon  his  engine.  And  much 
the  same  conditions  prevailed  in  East  Africa, 
where,  as  the  official  account  said,  "  Most 
serious  risks  have  been  run  by  the  officers  and 
men  who  have  flown  in  this  climate,  where 
the  effect  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  extreme 
heat  of  the  sun  are  quite  unknown  to  those 

76 


The  End  of  the  ''  Konigsberg'' 

whose  flying  experience  is  limited  to  moderate 
climates.  '  Bmiips '  of  250  feet  have  been 
experienced  several  times  [which  means  that 
the  aviator  has  dropped  into  an  air-pocket, 
and  sHd  down  the  emptiness  so  quickly  that 
the  effect  of  reaching  normal  conditions  again, 
has  given  his  machine  an  awful  bump,  in  much 
the  same  way  as  a  man  jumping  from  a  wall 
feels  the  jar  when  he  hits  the  solid  ground 
below],  and  the  temperature  varies  from  ex- 
treme cold,  when  flying  at  a  great  height,  to 
a  great  heat,  with  burning  tropical  sun,  when 
on  land." 

On  April  25th,  Flight-Commander  Coll  carried 
an  observer  from  Mafia  to  where  the  Konigsberg 
lay.  It  was  only  after  considerable  trouble 
that  they  located  her,  for  she  was  hidden 
among  the  jungle,  with  tree  trunks  erected 
upon  her  decks  to  further  conceal  her.  The 
Germans,  who,  it  was  supposed,  had  an  obser- 
vation and  '  spotting '  station  at  Pemba,  were 
quickly  apprised  of  the  approach  of  the  aero- 
plane, and  her  appearance  was  the  signal  for 
a  heavy  bombardment.  Perhaps  because  the 
German  gunners  were  not  experienced  in  aerial 

77 


Thrilling  Deeds 

shooting  the  machine  was  not  brought  down, 
but,  as  she  had  to  descend  to  about  700  feet 
to  enable  the  observer  to  take  the  required 
photographs,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
some  shots  got  home,  and  that  the  engine  of 
the  aeroplane  was  badly  damaged,  although  not 
so  badly  as  to  prevent  the  aviators  returning 
to  their  base. 

Final  plans  having  been  made,  on  July  6th 
Flight-Commander  Harold  E.  M.  Watkins, 
with  Assistant-Paymaster  Harold  G.  Badger 
of  H.M.S.  Hyacinth,  (who  had  had  no  previous 
experience  in  flying,  and  had  volunteered  for 
the  risky  venture)  as  observer,  left  Mafia  at 
5.25  a.m.,  with  a  cargo  of  bombs,  followed  at 
540  by  Lieutenant-Commander  Coll  with  Flight- 
Sub-Lieutenant  H.  J.  Arnold  as  observer. 
The  Severn  and  the  Mersey  were  meantime 
moving  up  into  the  river,  and  while  the  monitors 
were  taking  up  firing  positions,  and  while 
Lieutenant  Arnold  was  signalling  his  observa- 
tions, the  airmen  in  the  first  machine  dropped 
their  bombs,  which  action  served  to  keep 
the  Germans  engaged.  All  being  ready,  the 
monitors  opened  fire,  and  at  the  same  time 

7S 


The  End  of  the  ''  Konigsberg'' 

H.M.S.  Weymouth  attended  to  Pemba  observa- 
tion station,  with  intent  to  distract  the  German 
gunners,  that  their  bombardment  at  the  moni- 
tors and  also  at  the  invaluable  aeroplanes 
overhead  might  be  ineffective. 

The  Konigsherg,  closely  hidden  in  the  dense 
jungle,  was  no  easy  mark,  despite  the  aid  of 
the  aeroplanes,  which,  naturally,  could  not 
keep  the  air  so  long  in  those  early  days  as  is 
possible  to-day.  The  result  was  that,  although 
firing  was  opened  at  6.30  a.m.,  by  12.35  little 
damage  had  been  done  to  the  Konigsberg, 
chiefly  because  the  aeroplanes,  of  which  there 
were  only  two  available,  had  continually  to 
be  relieving  each  other.  The  distance  from 
the  aerodrome  to  the  site  of  the  Konigsberg 
was  thirty  miles,  therefore  "  Considerable  in- 
tervals elapsed  between  the  departure  of  one 
and  the  arrival  of  its  relief,  and  this  resulted 
in  loss  of  shooting  efficiency."  To  make 
matters  more  difficult,  just  after  half-past 
twelve  one  of  the  machines  broke  down, 
and  the  gunners  on  the  monitors  had  to  make 
the  best  they  could  of  the  one  observer. 

Naturally,  the  Konigsberg  was  not  taking  her 

79 


Thrilling  Deeds 

gruelling  without  a  fight.  Her  gunners  worked 
their  guns  well,  and  won  praise  from  the 
Admiral  in  charge  of  the  British  forces.  The 
Kdnigsherg  replied,  he  wrote,  "  firing  salvos 
of  five  guns  with  accuracy  and  rapidity. 
H.M.S.  Mersey  was  hit  twice,  four  men  being 
killed  and  four  wounded  by  one  shell."  For 
six  hours  the  bombardment  had  been  going 
on,  and  the  Konigsberg  was  still  intact,  although 
she  had  been  hit  five  times — not  bad  shooting, 
considering  all  the  difficulties  of  '  spotting '  the 
fall  of  the  shots.  Again  the  monitors  fired  a 
salvo,  and  the  shells  fell  with  devastating  force 
upon  her.  The  vessel  was  now  seen  to  be 
heavily  on  fire  between  the  masts.  Then  it  was 
that  the  aeroplane  broke  down,  and  the  work 
of  observation  was  left  to  the  second  machine. 
The  Germans  had  paid  their  respects  also 
to  the  aviators,  and  many  narrow  escapes  were 
experienced.  But  the  work  went  on  until 
3.50,  when  the  second  machine  was  incapaci- 
tated for  further  work  that  day,  and  the 
operations  came  to  a  temporary  close. 

Although  the  Konigsberg  must  by  that  time 
have   been   in  an  awful  condition,   her   men 

80 


The  End  of  tlie  '' Konigsberg' 

were  plucky,  and  she  had  continued  to  fire 
with  one  gun,  intermittently,  for  some  time 
after  the  fire  had  broken  out.  Eventually, 
however,  she  ceased  firing,  whether  because  her 
guns  had  all  been  put  out  of  action  or  because 
ammunition  had  failed  her  was  not  known 
then.  Certain  it  was  that,  if  she  were  not 
entirely  out  of  action,  she  was  incapacitated, 
and  would  not  give  much  trouble  when  the 
time  came  to  put  the  finishing  touches  upon 
the  work. 

These  final  operations  were  carried  out  on 
July  nth,  and  FHght-Commander  Coll,  having 
got  his  machine  in  working  order  again,  went 
out  with  FHght-Sub-Lieutenant  Arnold,  to 
*  spot '  for  the  monitors,  which  had  effected 
necessary  repairs  and  taken  in  coal.  The  ob- 
servation of  Lieutenant  Arnold  was  excellent, 
and  it  did  not  take  long  for  the  gunners  on 
the  monitors  to  get  the  exact  range,  where- 
upon they  literally  showered  their  explosives 
upon  the  doomed  Kdnigsherg,  or  what  was  left 
of  her.  Even  then  the  Germans  put  up  a  good 
defence,  trying  to  bring  down  the  aeroplane, 
or  else  drive  it  away,  and  the  aviators  were  in 
F  8i 


Thrilling  Deeds 

no  little  peril  all  the  time.  Eventually,  when 
the  work  was  almost  completed,  the  Germans 
got  home  a  shot  which  so  badly  damaged  the 
machine  that  Lieutenant  Arnold  had  to  signal 
to  the  monitors  that  they  were  forced  to 
descend  and  would  try  to  land  near  by.  From 
3200  feet  the  aeroplane  dropped  to  2000 
in  a  very  short  time,  although  Flight-Com- 
mander Coll  did  his  best  to  keep  up  as  long 
as  possible.  He  knew  that  the  work  must 
be  completed  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  that 
without  his  machine  the  gunners  on  the 
monitors  would,  to  all  intents  and  purposes, 
be  helpless.  His  observer  continued  calmly  to 
take  note  of  each  shot  as  it  fell  and  to  send 
back  '  spotting '  corrections.  A  quarter  of  an 
hour  passed,  the  aeroplane  dropping  lower  all 
the  time,  and  the  Germans  making  frantic  efforts 
to  finish  their  aerial  enemy,  until  at  last  they 
succeeded  in  hitting  it  again,  inflicting  further 
injury,  which  made  it  imperative  to  go  down 
at  once.  Even  then,  while  the  biplane  main- 
tained an  even  keel  Lieutenant  Arnold  con- 
tinued to  send  his  '  spottings,'  but  at  last  flight 
was  no  longer  possible.     The  machine,  piloted 

82 


The  End  of  the  ''  Konigsherg'' 

very  skilfully,  came  over  the  monitors,  and 
then  began  to  fall  rapidly,  turning  over  and 
over  and  finally  plunging  into  the  river  near 
the  Mersey,  which,  by  the  wa}/,  had  been 
struck  by  shells  from  the  Kdnigsherg. 

It  was  a  dramatic  moment.  Flight-Com- 
mander Coll  was  entangled  in  the  wreckage, 
so  that  he  was  in  great  peril.  Lieutenant 
Arnold  was  able  to  disengage  himself  and 
with  great  gallantry  went  to  his  pilot's  assist- 
ance. The  soaked  planes  were  dipping  one 
after  the  other  into  the  water,  and  the  weight 
of  the  engine  was  gradually  dragging  the 
biplane  down.  Working  feverishly  yet  sys- 
tematically, at  great  risk  to  himself  Lieutenant 
Arnold  succeeded  in  extricating  Coll  from  the 
wreckage.  He  was  only  just  in  time  ;  a  few 
more  minutes  and  the  pilot  would  have  gone 
down  with  the  wreck  of  the  aeroplane  on 
which  he  had  done  such  good  service. 

Supporting  his  exhausted  companion,  Lieu- 
tenant Arnold  awaited  anxiously  the  arrival 
of  a  boat  which  he  had  seen  set  out  from  the 
Mersey.  In  a  short  time  he  and  his  burden 
were   hauled    into    the    craft,    and   taken    on 

83 


Thrillmg  Deeds 

board  the  monitor,  which,  with  her  sister  vessel, 
had  meantime  continued  the  bombardment 
of  the  helpless  Konigsherg.  At  12.50  it  was 
reported  that  the  raider  was  on  fire  and  would 
give  no  more  trouble.  The  cruiser  had  not 
long  survived  the  aeroplane  ! 

It  is  evident  that  but  for  the  good  work 
done  by  the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service,  the 
destruction  of  the  Konigsberg  would  have  been 
far  more  difficult.  In  all  probability  a  strong 
force  of  men  would  have  had  to  have  been 
landed,  and  they  would  have  had  to  fight 
their  way  through  the  jungle  and  assault  the 
entrenched  Germans,  an  operation  which  would, 
no  doubt,  have  been  attended  with  considerable 
loss.  The  operations  proved  in  a  remarkable 
way  the  value  of  the  newest  arm  in  warfare. 


84 


CHAPTER  VI 

''One  of  02tr  Mad  tines  did  not 
Return'' 

BEHIND  the  cold  official  announcements 
which  tell  only  that  "  one  of  our 
machines  has  failed  to  return "  there 
is,  as  may  be  supposed,  very  often  a  thrilling 
story,  for  several  things,  any  one  of  which 
has  possibilities  and  probabilities  of  dra- 
matic character,  may  have  happened  to  that 
machine. 

Read,  for  instance,  the  story  of  Captain 
Thomas  Chaloner,  13th  Squadron,  R.F.C.,  who, 
not  having  returned  from  a  bombing  raid  on 
July  ist,  1916,  was  notified  as  "  missing." 
Apparently  a  storm  was  brewing  in  the  cauldron 
of  the  elements,  but,  as  he  wrote  home,  Captain 
Chaloner  "  did  not  see  it,"  being  engaged  by 
a  German  at  the  time.  Anxious  to  reach  his 
objective  rather  than  to  try  conclusions  with 
a  foe  on  the  way,  the  Captain  set  his  engine 
going  '  all  out,'  and  succeeded  in  showing  a 

85 


Thrilling  Deeds 

mocking  tail  to  the  German.  He  was  pm-sued, 
however,  for  some  distance,  and  for  a  time  his 
escape  was  not  assured.  To  add  to  his  perils 
he  came  within  range  of  an  anti-aircraft 
battery,  over  which  he  was  flying,  and  only 
good  handling  and  skilful  steering  got  him 
out  of  that  tight  corner. 

The  Captain  was  not  yet  out  of  the  wood, 
however,  for,  he  had  hardly  drawn  clear  when 
he  became  aware  of  another  German  machine 
about  200  feet  above  him.  Again  he  put  on 
his  best  speed,  and  as  he  drove  along  there 
came  down  to  him  the  vicious  snapping  of  a 
machine-gun.  At  first  it  did  not  occur  to  him 
that  the  German  was  attacking  him !  "I 
thought  he  was  engaging  another  machine," 
he  wrote.  "  When  I  looked  up  I  saw  that  he 
and  I  were  the  only  machines  in  sight,  so  I 
realized  what  was  up." 

As  if  to  press  home  the  seriousness  of  the 
situation,  there  came  to  the  Captain  the  sound 
of  several  sharp  raps  on  his  left  plane,  and 
looking  in  that  direction,  he  saw  three  ominous 
little  holes  in  the  wing,  which  proved  that  the 
German  was  making  good  practice,  and  that  it 

86 


One  of  our  MacJiuies  did  not  Return 

was  necessary  to  take  immediate  action  to  deal 
with  him.  Captain  Chaloner  wasted  no  time  ; 
he  stood  his  machine  on  its  tail,  and  so  bring- 
ing his  gun  in  direct  line  with  the  hovering 
enemy,  he  emptied  a  whole  drum  into  him.  The 
German,  however,  roared  past  and  over  him, 
being  enabled  to  do  so  with  facility  owing  to 
the  fact  that  his  machine  was  probably  twice 
as  speedy  as  Captain  Chaloner 's.  Before  the 
Britisher  could  come  about,  his  adversary 
had  dropped  behind  and  almost  level  with 
him,  letting  fly  with  his  machine-gun  as  he  did 
so.  Chaloner  replied  with  half  a  drum.  Up 
went  the  German  again,  climbing  with  amazing 
rapidity,  and  coming  right  over  the  Captain. 
As  he  went  he  sprayed  a  few  more  rounds, 
and  suddenly  the  Captain's  engine  '  cut  out,' 
and  he  knew  that  one  of  the  bullets,  at  any 
rate,  had  found  a  sure  billet,  probably,  so  he 
guessed  at  the  time,  in  his  carburettor.  In- 
stantly the  British  machine  began  to  glide, 
and  the  German,  flying  at  a  fair  distance 
above,  followed,  expending  occasional  rounds 
as  he  did  so.  The  situation  was  becoming 
unpleasant,    and   Captain   Chaloner,    although 

87 


Thrilling  Deeds 

he  knew  that  he  was  at  a  severe  disadvantage, 
turned  upon  his  foe  and  fired  up  at  him, 
getting  off  about  fifteen  rounds.  It  was  all 
very  hopeless,  however,  for  the  British  aero- 
plane, without  a  working  engine,  had  abso- 
lutely no  chance,  and  the  pilot  knew  that  he 
would  be  lucky  if  he  reached  tena  firma  alive. 
Suddenly  his  machine  dived  and  then  side- 
slipped, but  the  Captain,  cool-headed  still, 
managed  to  regain  control  when  he  was  within 
about  i8o  feet  of  the  ground,  and  he  finally 
glided  safely  to  earth,  to  find  himself  surrounded 
by  German  infantry. 

They  carried  him  ten  miles  back  toward  the 
firing  line — which  shows  that  he  had  gone  a 
considerable  distance  over  the  German  lines 
— and  after  a  while  some  German  Flying 
Corps  officers  came  up  in  a  motor-car  to  claim 
him  as  their  prize.  The  infantry  opposed  the 
claim,  and  there  was  a  "  lot  of  scrapping," 
as  the  Captain  wrote,  but  in  the  end  the  flying 
men  won,  and  the  prisoner  was  taken  to  their 
mess.  There  he  met  his  antagonist,  and  also 
a  number  of  British  pilots  who  had  been 
similarly  unlucky.    To  the  credit  of  the  German 


Ojie  of  our  Macliincs  did  not  Return 

flying  men,   let  it  be  said  that  they  treated 
Captain  Chaloner  well. 

Behind  the  brief,  laconic  report  issued  of  a 
raid  on  Schleswig-Holstein,  on  March  25th,  1916, 
there  is  a  graphic  tale  of  an  air  and  sea  attack, 
which  was  undertaken  in  circumstances  which 
were  very  unfavourable  and  resulted,  amongst 
other  things,  in  certain  airmen  being  reported 
as  missing.  When,  over  a  twelvemonth  before, 
our  naval  airmen  had  attacked  Cuxhaven  their 
efforts  had  not  been  so  successful  as  they 
might  have  been  because  of  a  fog  which  hid 
the  precious  ships  in  harbour,  and,  similarly, 
the  raid  which  we  are  about  to  describe  had  not 
the  results  which  were  expected  of  it  owing  to 
the  inclement  weather.  The  expedition,  con- 
sisting of  light  cruisers  and  destroyers  and 
seaplanes,  set  out  from  its  base  at  an  hour 
which  it  was  calculated  would  bring  the  force 
near  to  the  German  coast  in  the  early  morning. 
The  evening  was  dark  enough  in  all  conscience, 
and  as  the  ships  held  on  their  way  the  weather 
became  very  threatening,  and  at  last  they 
drove   right   into    a   howling   blizzard.     Com- 

89 


Thrilling  Deeds 

modore  Tyrwhitt,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
expedition,  knew  that  the  trip  to  Germany  was 
going  to  be  no  easy  one ;  it  would  have  been 
difficult  even  if  only  for  the  many  minefields 
to  be  gone  through,  but  with  such  a  storm 
raging  the  dangers  were  increased  tenfold. 

One  of  those  who  took  part  in  the  affair 
told  a  Scotsman  interviewer  that  "  it  was 
terrible  work.  The  journey  was  long.  It  was 
not  until  one  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning 
that  we  got  near  the  German  coast.  We  were 
now  going  full  steam  ahead  ;  all  decks  were 
cleared  for  action,  the  men  standing  by  the 
guns,  and  the  bows  ploughed  through  the 
angry  seas  like  razors.  We  managed  to  steer 
through  the  hidden  dangers  successfully,  and 
about  3  a.m.  the  curtain  went  up  on  the 
strangest  vision  which  has  ever  been  seen  in 
the  North  Sea. 

"  The  weather  quickly  grew  worse,  and  just 
as  the  show  was  about  to  begin  a  terrific  gale 
sprang  up !  Battle-cruisers,  destroyers  and 
other  craft  were  tossed  about  like  corks.  The 
wind  was  blowing  fearfully,  and  more  than  once 
we  were  in  such  a  plight  that  many  of  us  yelled 

90 


One  of  ow  Machines  did  not  Return 

'  Good-bye,  England,  home,  and  beauty !  ' 
To  make  matters  worse  a  terrific  snowstorm 
came  on,  and  the  North  Sea  seemed  to  undergo 
a  complete  transformation.  Nothing  looked 
more  unlikely  than  a  battle  in  such  weather 
conditions." 

And  indeed  those  same  weather  conditions 
caused  the  seaplane  raid  to  be  postponed  for 
a  while.  Apparently  the  German  fleet  was 
not  keen  on  coming  out  to  give  battle,  and  as 
their  ships  lolloped  off  the  coast,  the  British 
seamen  whiled  away  the  time  with  gramo- 
phones, the  favourite  record  on  that  dark  and 
dismal  morn  being,  "  Here  we  are,  here  we  are 
again  !  " — an  invitation  to  the  enemy  to  join 
issue.  The  Commodore,  realizing  that  the 
weather  was  not  likely  to  change,  eventually 
decided  to  let  loose  his  falcons,  five  of  which 
were  sent  up  in  the  teeth  of  the  driving  storm. 

We  will  leave  the  story  of  those  seaplanes 
for  a  while  in  order  to  tell  of  what  happened 
to  their  escort  during  the  time  the  bombers 
were  winging  their  way  toward  the  airship 
sheds  on  the  island  of  Sylt.  The  German 
patrol    boats,    in    due    course,    came    within 

91 


Thrilling  Deeds 

striking  distance  of  the  Britisli  vessels,  and 
simultaneously  both  sides  opened  fire  through 
the  blizzard.  The  snow  was  falling  so  densely, 
however,  that  it  was  difficult  to  retain  any 
organized  formation,  and  the  action  developed 
into  a  series  of  isolated  duels.  The  British 
ships  lost  no  opportunity  of  punishing  their 
opponents,  who  were  chased  relentlessly  when- 
ever they  were  sighted  through  the  snow. 
Two  armed  trawlers  felt  the  weight  and  the 
smother  of  British  gun-fire  and  gave  no  further 
trouble.  British  destroyers  were  quickly  at 
work  picking  up  struggling  survivors,  but  the 
work  of  rescue  was  not  easy,  and  danger  lurked 
behind  the  snow-bank.  The  dense  veil  of  snow 
bafHed  all  efforts  on  the  part  of  look-out  men, 
and  it  happened  that  the  Medusa  suddenly 
found  herself  face  to  face,  as  it  were,  with  one 
of  her  consorts.  The  discovery  was  made  too 
late  to  avoid  collision,  and  with  a  rending  crash 
the  two  ships  swept  into  each  other,  the  Medusa 
getting  the  worst  of  the  encounter.  On  the 
instant  it  was  "  Out  boats  !  "  on  the  other 
destroyers,  and  while  at  several  points  of  the 
far-reaching  scene  of  battle,  guns  were  roaring, 

92 


One  of  our  Machines  did  not  Return 

yellow-red  flashes  were  rending  the  darkness, 
and  shells  were  screaming  through  the  air, 
stirring  deeds  were  being  enacted  in  the  effort 
to  save  as  many  as  possible  of  the  Medusa's 
men,  some  of  whom  were  in  the  water,  while 
others  were  being  transferred  from  their  doomed 
vessel  before  she  went  down. 

Both  fleets  used  the  same  tactics  for  diffe- 
rent purposes :  the  Germans  sought  to  lure  the 
British  ships  on  to  the  minefields  nearer  the 
coast,  while  the  British  vessels  tried  to  coax 
the  Germans  out  to  sea  by  offering  themselves 
as  bait.  From  the  "  dashing  in "  tactics 
which  they  had  first  used  the  Britons  fell  back 
to  what  seemed  to  be  flight ;  they  suddenly 
"  swooped  round,"  said  one  who  was  present, 
"  to  give  the  enemy  the  impression  that  we 
were  beating  a  hasty  retreat."  The  ruse  de 
guerre  was  successful  ;  German  cruisers  and 
torpedo-boat  destroyers,  confident  that  they 
now  had  their  enemy  on  the  run  and  possibly 
at  their  mercy,  swept  out  to  the  chase,  which 
lasted  just  as  long  as  the  British  desired  it 
to.  They  then  swung  round  as  one  ship  and 
bombarded  the  disillusioned  Germans  with  all 

93 


Thrilling  Deeds 

the  guns  they  could  bring  to  bear.  Despite  the 
awful  weather  conditions  the  British  gunners 
got  in  some  fine  shots,  as  was  evident  when, 
the  snow  occasionally  clearing,  enemy  destroyers 
were  seen  to  be  blazing  from  end  to  end.  The 
last  that  was  seen  of  two  of  them  showed  that 
they  were  in  that  fiery  phght,  and  in  view  of 
the  heavy  weather  it  is  not  a  little  doubtful 
whether  they  could  have  reached  the  port  for 
which  they  and  their  consorts  were  hastening 
with  the  British  shells  dropping  like  a  hurricane 
at  their  heels. 

Yet  one  other  German  destroyer  met  her 
doom  during  that  terrific  fight  by  the  little- 
used  method  of  modern  naval  warfare,  the  ram. 
H.M.S.  Cleopatra,  cutting  through  the  seas 
with  well-nigh  the  highest  power  of  her  engines, 
her  bows  hidden  from  sight  by  the  huge 
waves  she  created,  suddenly  came  through  the 
snow  upon  a  German  destroyer.  The  unlucky 
boat  had  never  experienced  such  a  hurricane 
of  fire  as  was  poured  upon  her  as  the  Cleopatra 
came  rapidly  up.  The  light  cruiser  headed 
directly  for  the  enemy,  who  tried  in  vain  to 
turn  off  the  approaching  foe  by  her  gunfire. 

94 


One  of  02tr  Machines  did  not  Return 

Probably  the  time  was  too  short  to  allow  of  a 
torpedo  being  launched,  but  the  risk  was  great, 
and  the  British  commander  took  a  desperate 
and  determined  resolve.  His  action  was  remi- 
niscent of  the  olden  days,  and  the  Germans 
must  have  been  wholly  unprepared  for  the 
stroke.  Throbbing  with  the  full  energy  of  her 
powerful  engines,  the  Cleopatra  drove  straight 
for  her  victim  and  her  sharp  bows  bit  deeply 
into  the  steel  hull  of  the  German.  The  awful 
impact  shook  the  cruiser  from  bow  to  stern 
and  made  even  her  own  strong-hearted  crew 
wonder  whether  their  ship  would  survive. 
But  the  British  cruiser  was  little  damaged, 
and  the  destroyer,  listing  heavily,  with  the  sea 
pouring  into  the  great  rent  in  her  hull,  fell 
away,  to  be  hidden  immediately  by  another 
curtain  of  snow  which  fell  at  that  moment. 

The  sea  affair  had  ended  successfully  and 
the  British  crews  were  highly  pleased  with 
their  work.     But  what  of  the  airmen  ? 

The  leader  of  the  raiders  was  Flight-Lieu- 
tenant  G.  H.  Reid,  and  of  the  band  of  Naval 
Air  Service  men  who  went  on  that  bomb- 
ing expedition  five,  including  Lieutenant  Reid 

95 


Thrilling  Deeds 

himself,  Flight-Sub-Lieutenant  J.  F.  Hay,  Chief 
Petty  Officer  Mullins,  and  two  others,  failed  to 
return. 

The  trip  out  to  the  airship  sheds  was  un- 
eventful, but  when  the  Naval  men  came  within 
sight  of  their  objective  it  was  clear  that  they 
were  to  experience  a  warm  reception.  Anti- 
aircraft batteries  barked  angrily  and  the  air 
was  filled  with  screaming  shells  and  whistling 
bullets,  but  the  aviators  sailed  courageously 
on  their  way,  and  as  each  passed  over  the 
long  lines  which  he  knew  to  be  sheds,  he  loosed 
his  bombs,  drove  on,  and  then  swept  round 
in  a  circle  which  led  him  out  seaward.  It  was 
a  strenuous  and  dangerous  business,  for  the 
driving  snowstorm  lashed  the  machines,  and  the 
snow  coated  the  glass  of  the  airmen's  goggles 
and  bhnded  them.  The  German  gunners,  too, 
were  making  good  practice  ;  such  good  practice, 
indeed,  that  two  machines  were  brought  down. 
One  of  these,  a  small  mount  carrying  Sub- 
Lieutenant  Hay,  tumbled  into  the  sea  just 
off  the  coast. 

Among  the  rest.  Lieutenant  Reid,  leader  of 
the  raiders,  was  fighting  his  way  through  the 

96 


One  of  our  Machines  did  not  Return 

snowstorm,  shells  bursting  above  and  below 
and  around  him,  so  that  he  seemed  to  be 
encircled  by  a  ring  of  explosions.  Safety  lay 
in  putting  as  great  a  distance  as  possible,  in  as 
short  a  time  as  possible,  between  himself  and 
the  batteries  below,  but  looking  down,  the 
Lieutenant  was  startled  to  see  a  seaplane 
drifting  on  the  water,  buffeted  by  the  wind 
and  waves,  and  the  figure  of  a  man  struggling 
beside  it. 

Lieutenant  Reid  recognized  that  the  wrecked 
machine  was  the  single-seater  which  had  carried 
Lieutenant  Hay,  and  although  he  might  have 
succeeded  in  getting  away  had  he  pushed  on, 
the  gallant  airman  planed  down  through  the 
crashing  shells,  alighted  on  the  water,  and 
taxied  toward  the  now  almost  submerged 
seaplane,  which  was  presently  reached.  A 
heavy  sea  was  running  and  Reid  and  his 
mechanic  had  to  use  all  their  skill  and  cun- 
ning to  keep  their  machine  steady  and  at  the 
same  time  hold  on  to  the  almost  exhausted 
Sub-Lieutenant.  Despite  all  the  difficulties, 
however,  and  regardless  of  the  fact  that  the 
Germans  were  continually  firing  heavily  at  them, 
G  97 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Lieutenant  Reid  and  his  mechanic,  C.  P.  O. 
Mullins,  at  last  managed  to  drag  the  wrecked 
aviator  into  the  body  of  their  machine,  where 
they  fixed  him  up  as  comfortably  as  was  pos- 
sible. He  was  chilled  to  the  bone,  and  almost 
unconscious  by  reason  of  his  exposure  and  the 
drenching  he  had  received. 

It  was  now  time  to  attend  again  to  their  own 
safety.  Lieutenant  Reid  opened  out  his  engine 
and  set  the  seaplane  taxi-ing  along  the  rough 
waters,  expecting  it  to  rise  in  due  course.  The 
machine,  however,  refused  to  do  anything  of 
the  kind,  and  the  pilot  could  neither  coax  it 
nor  force  it.  Nothing  but  the  purr  of  the 
engine  and  a  short,  sharp  spurt  followed  his 
efforts. 

And  alas !  Lieutenant  Reid  could  see  a 
German  ship  ploughing  its  way  through  the 
heaving  seas.  Steadily  forward  the  vessel  came, 
and  the  sight  of  her  made  the  airman  redouble 
his  efforts  to  get  up  and  away.  The  wind 
seemed  to  force  his  machine  downward  every 
time  he  thought  he  had  it  on  the  rise  ;  the 
water  seemed  to  be  clinging  to  the  floats  and 
refusing  to  let  go.     It  was  maddening  ! 

98 


One  of  our  MacJiines  did  7iot  Rehirn 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  what  thoughts  were 
running  through  the  minds  of  the  three  Britons 
as  they  sat  in  their  obstinate  mount :  to  rise 
and  wing  out  across  the  sea  meant  freedom 
and  opportunity  to  fight  again  ;  to  stay  there, 
until  that  forging  ship  reached  them,  meant 
captivity  until  the  world-war  was  over  !  Never 
did  men  work  more  determinedly  than  they ; 
but  weather  and  water  were  against  them  ; 
they  lay  rocking  helplessly  on  the  surface,  and 
knew  at  last  that  they  were  doomed. 

When  the  German  ship  came  up  there  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  submit  with  the  best 
possible  grace,  and  the  shivering,  drenched, 
wretched-looking  three  were  hauled  aboard, 
to  be  consigned  to  a  prison  camp  and  enforced 
idleness  for  many  a  long  day  to  come. 

Sometimes  news  of  what  happens  to  those 
who  are  posted  *  missing '  comes,  not  through 
letters  received  from  the  men  themselves,  but 
from  neutral  correspondents  with  the  German 
army.  In  such  cases  the  censor  sees  to  it  that 
the  narrator  does  not  tell  too  much,  but  there 
is  one  story  at  least   which  filtered  through 

99 


Thrilling  Deeds 

to  America  of  a  battle  royal  in  which  British 
aviators  were  worsted. 

On  a  cloudless  September  day,  in  1916, 
spectators  at  the  German  Headquarters  in 
Picardy  saw  four  tiny  specks  appear  in  the 
sky.  The  setting  sun  provided  an  appropriate 
background  for  what  was  about  to  be  enacted. 
Evidently  hostile  aeroplanes  were  approaching, 
for  puffs  of  bursting  shrapnel  from  the  anti- 
aircraft guns  began  to  play  about  the  points 
of  black.  Those  shells  seemed  to  be  very  near 
to  the  oncoming  aeroplanes,  although  it  after- 
ward transpired  that  they  were  falling  nearly 
a  mile  short  of  the  nearest  machine.  The 
specks  grew  larger,  the  guns  roared  continu- 
ously, and  the  watchers  presently  saw  a  couple 
of  German  machines  rise  swiftly  behind  the 
raiders  as  though  to  cut  them  off. 

Every  one  was  now  on  the  qui  vive,  waiting 
for  the  combat  to  begin.  It  was  clear  that 
the  visitors  were  British,  yet  there  was  not 
one  of  the  lookers-on  who  did  not  admire  the 
way  in  which  the  four  pilots  sailed  over  the 
gun  positions,  apparently  quite  untroubled  by 
the  bursts  of  shrapnel. 

100 


One  of  our  Machines  did  not  Return 

Presently  it  became  evident  that  one  of  the 
raiders  had  caught  sight  of  one  of  the  German 
machines,  for  he  began  to  dive. 

But  it  is  time  for  us  to  see  what  was  hap- 
pening in  that  British  biplane,  and  we  have 
available  the  report  of  the  newspaper  corre- 
spondent who  interviewed  the  pilot  and  observer 
afterward. 

Lieutenant  Douglas  Stewart,  the  observer, 
sweeping  the  limitless  space  with  his  binoculars, 
had  spotted  one  of  those  uprising  German 
aeroplanes,  and,  informing  his  pilot,  Captain 
A.  S.  Salmond,  prepared  for  the  moment 
when  Captain  Salmond  should  decide  to  attack. 
The  Lewis  guns  were  unshipped  and  ready 
when  the  biplane  turned  in  her  course  and 
dived  steeply.  The  cross-marked  wings  grew 
rapidly  larger  and  Briton  and  German  met  in 
mortal  combat  8000  feet  up.  Unhappily  for 
Captain  Salmond  and  his  observer,  their 
attention  was  taken  up  by  their  one  foe,  and 
they  did  not  see  that  a  second  hawk  was  on 
their  trail. 

The  British  machine,  which  had  dropped 
about  2500  feet,  engaged  the  first  enemy  at 

lOI 


Thrilling  Deeds 

some  600  yards,  and  there  followed  a  sharp 
exchange  of  about  a  dozen  rounds  of  ammu- 
nition without  much  harm  being  caused  to 
either  combatant. 

And  then  came  disaster  for  the  Britons. 

The  second  German  'plane,  which  had  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  well  over  the  British  craft, 
suddenly  poured  in  a  stream  of  bullets.  One 
plugged  into  Stewart's  cheek,  another  cut  the 
collar  of  his  tunic  to  rags  and  narrowly  missed 
his  throat,  while  a  third  scraped  the  pilot's 
face.  Stewart  was  flung  off  his  seat  on  to  the 
floor  of  the  nacelle,  and  was  badly  bruised. 
He  had  sufficient  strength  to  ram  another 
drum  into  his  gun,  and,  determined  to  make  a 
good  show,  he  emptied  this  at  the  enemy, 
although  he  could  not  get  back  into  his  seat, 
and  had  to  fire  lying  down. 

He  realized,  in  that  moment  when  the 
machine  was  swaying  frightfully,  that  there 
was  little  chance  for  him  and  his  companion. 
"  It  was  a  pretty  fight,"  he  said,  "  but  fate  was 
against  us."  Fate  indeed  was  against  them, 
for  the  German's  hurricane  of  bullets  crackled 
all  over  the  machine,  and  presently  the  pilot's 

102 


A   British  Aeroplane  Ablaze  after  a  Duel  with  a 
Giant  Biplane 


loa 


One  of  ottr  Machines  did  not  Return 

control  was  carried  away.  It  was  now  im- 
possible to  get  out  of  the  tight  corner  and 
the  British  machine  was  utterly  at  the  mercy 
of  the  foe,  whose  shots  now  cut  away  the 
struts  of  one  of  the  wings,  which  immediately 
collapsed. 

Like  a  bird  with  broken  wing,  the  doomed 
aeroplane  dropped  at  lightning  speed,  followed 
by  the  victor.  Seven  thousand  five  hundred 
feet  Captain  Salmond  saw  that  his  altimeter 
was  registering,  and  he  knew  that  there  was 
little  likelihood,  unless  a  miracle  happened, 
of  either  he  or  his  observer  escaping  with  life. 
Grim,  silent,  facing  death,  those  two  intrepid 
men  sat  in  their  nacelle,  the  pilot  doing  all  he 
could  with  his  smashed  controlling  gear  to  pre- 
vent the  machine  from  turning  too  many  of 
those  fearful  somersaults  which  so  often  have 
resulted  in  death. 

The  splendid  skill  and  nerve  of  Captain 
Salmond  triumphed,  the  tragedy  was  obviated, 
and  when  the  machine  reached  earth,  the 
two  men,  although  badly  shaken  and  sorely 
battered,  were  still  alive — indeed,  they  had 
no  bones  broken  ! 

103 


Thrilling  Deeds 

In  the  spirit  of  camaraderie  which  seems 
especially  to  distinguish  the  men  of  the  rival 
flying  services,  the  German  victors,  it  is 
pleasant  to  add,  treated  their  prisoners  cour- 
teously while  they  were  at  the  flying  base. 

We  will  conclude  this  chapter  with  one  other 
story  told  by  a  newspaper  correspondent  with 
the  German  army. 

One  day  during  September  1916,  Captain 
Boelcke,  the  man  who  competed  with  Immel- 
mann  for  the  reputation  of  being  champion 
flying  fighter  of  Germany,  attacked  Captain 
R.  E.  Wilson  of  the  R.F.C.,  and  after  some 
excellent  fighting  on  the  part  of  both  succeeded 
in  holing  Captain  Wilson's  tank. 

The  petrol  flowed  over  the  machine,  and 
instantly  there  was  a  tremendous  blaze  which 
enveloped  the  whole  aeroplane.  Knowing  that 
if  he  would  save  his  life  he  must  descend  at 
once,  Captain  Wilson  immediately  sent  his 
machine  diving  for  earth.  It  needs  grit  to 
keep  one's  seat  with  the  flames  roaring  around 
as  the  machine  slips  through  the  air.  Captain 
Wilson  was  badly  burned,  and  any  man  could 

104 


One  of  otir  Machines  did  not  Retur7i 

be  excused  who  in  a  moment  of  such  agony  as 
the  airman  must  have  suffered  lost  his  head 
and  leapt  out  of  his  machine. 

But  Captain  Wilson  kept  his  head,  maintained 
perfect  control  over  his  mount,  and  actually 
succeeded  in  bringing  it  to  rest  as  gracefully 
as  he  would  have  done  in  normal  circumstances, 
much  to  the  astonishment  of  the  Germans,  who 
had  expected  to  see  the  machine  crash  heavily 
to  earth,  the  flaming  bier  of  its  pilot. 


105 


CHAPTER  VII 

First-Aid  in  Mid- Air 

THE  manner  in  which  Sub-Lieutenant 
Oxley  won  his  D.S.C.  reveals  an 
amazing  degree  of  coolness  and  auda- 
city—  those  two  distinguishing  qualities  of 
British  airmen. 

King  Fox  of  Bulgaria  and  his  brood,  when 
they  entered  the  arena  of  the  European  War, 
probably  did  not  realize  that  far-off  Britain 
would  send  her  aerial  fighters  over  their  cities  ; 
but  the  men  of  the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service 
might  certainly  take  Uhique!  as  their  motto. 

Choosing  the  most  opportune  moment, 
Bulgaria  '  came  in  '  and,  pouncing  upon  the 
back  of  gallant  Serbia,  helped  to  smash  her  ; 
and  so  our  naval  airmen  did  what  they  could 
to  take  toll  of  the  Bulgars  for  their  treachery. 
Day  after  day  the  coast  of  the  traitor-kingdom 
was  raided,  and  bombs  fell  with  destructive 
effect  upon  places  of  military  importance ;  and 
not  all  the  efforts  of  the  enemy  could  keep  off 

1 06 


First- A  id  i^t  Mid- Air 

the  gallant  airmen  of  Britain.  Not  merely  in 
ones  and  twos,  but  in  whole  squadrons  the  fliers 
went,  spreading  terror  wherever  they  appeared. 

When  Sub-Lieutenant  Oxley,  flying  as  ob- 
server in  a  battle-plane  piloted  by  Flight- 
Lieutenant  Dunning,  D.S.C.,  won  his  Cross, 
he  was  on  escort  and  reconnaissance  patrol 
for  a  flight  of  bombing  machines  the  objec- 
tive of  which  lay  "  somewhere  on  the  Bulgarian 
coast."  As  it  happened,  the  day,  June  20th, 
1916,  was  as  fine  a  day  as  could  be  wished 
either  for  a  flight  or  a  fight. 

The  battle-plane,  as  distinct  from  the  bomb- 
droppers,  hummed  on  steadily  in  advance, 
ready  to  engage  any  enemy  craft  bold  enough 
to  attack  ;  and  Oxley  was  busy  all  the  time 
not  merely  in  looking  out  for  hovering  foemen, 
but  in  taking  observations  of  the  countryside. 
After  a  while,  his  attention  was  distracted 
from  note-taking  by  the  sudden  appearance 
of  two  machines,  approaching  from  inland. 
The  pilot,  Lieutenant  Dunning,  knew  that 
these  would  prove  to  be  enemies,  and  eagerly 
made  toward  them,  driving  into  as  close  range 
as  was  possible  ;  and  then  a  fierce  fight  began. 

107 


Thrillmg  Deeds 

Both  enemy  machines  took  part,  trying  to 
bring  down  their  intrepid  opponent,  who, 
however,  darted  hither  and  thither,  soared  up 
and  over  this  foe,  swooped  down  and  under 
the  other,  incessantly  endeavouring  to  out- 
manoeuvre them.  While  Dunning  steered  his 
machine  skilfully,  striving  ever  to  secure  the 
most  advantageous  position,  Oxley  worked 
the  machine-gun,  giving  one  enemy  the  benefit 
of  a  drum  full  of  cartridges,  and  then  slipping 
in  another  as  Dunning  swooped  toward  the 
foe  who  was  attacking  from  another  point. 

Quick  work — a  thrilling  game — a  gamble 
with  the  death  that  might  come  before  the 
next  revolution  of  the  propeller  !  Battles  in 
the  air  do  not,  as  a  rule,  last  long,  though  a 
whole  eternity  of  experience  may  seem  to 
be  crammed  into  the  few  minutes  between 
attack  and  retreat — or  disaster.  Oxley  and 
Dunning  passed  through  all  the  stages  of  such 
combats :  advance  to  attack,  engagement, 
circling  round  their  foes,  mounting  higher 
and  then  dropping  lower,  giving  shots  and 
receiving  shots,  never  able  to  efface  the  sub- 
conscious thought  that  they  might  be  doomed 

io8 


First' A  id  in  Mid- Air 

to  that  swift  destruction  which  is  so  often 
the  airman's  end ;  and  when  Dunning  felt  a 
sudden  burning  pain  in  his  left  leg,  and  there 
was  the  thump  of  bullets  as  they  entered  the 
petrol  tank,  it  seemed  that  the  climax  had 
come.  Dunning  set  his  teeth,  Oxley  trained 
his  gun  at  the  nearest  foe  :  they  would  die 
fighting  anyway. 

But,  there  was  no  need  to  die  !  The  enemy, 
not  realizing  that  they  had  wounded  both 
pilot  and  machine,  and  having  themselves  had 
quite  sufficient  drubbing  for  one  day,  suddenly 
turned  tail  and  drummed  off  in  retreat ! 

As  soon  as  he  saw  that  Dunning  was  injured. 
Lieutenant  Oxley  got  to  work.  The  home 
aerodrome  was  a  good  way  off,  and  Dunning 
might  bleed  to  death  if  his  wound  was  not 
stopped,  so  Oxley  improvised  a  tourniquet  , 
which  he  contrived  to  pass  over  to  his  disabled 
companion  with  a  scribbled  note  telling  him 
to  fix  it  on  his  leg  and  to  relinquish  control 
of  the  machine  so  that  he  hnnself  might  take 
charge. 

Then,  while  the  aeroplane  was  spinning 
through  the  air,   Oxley  scrambled  over  from 

109 


Thrilling  Deeds 

his  own  seat  into  that  occupied  by  the  pilot, 
the  latter  shifted,  Oxley  took  his  place,  and, 
while  Dunning  applied  the  tourniquet  to  the 
pumping  wound  in  his  leg,  the  observer  steered 
the  racing  machine  toward  their  base.  Dunning 
made  himself  as  comfortable  as  possible,  and 
then  turned  his  attention  to  the  injured  petrol 
tank.  It  was  leaking  badly,  and  unless  the 
leak  were  stopped  the  machine  would  have  to 
descend  a  long  way  from  home.  The  pilot 
solved  the  problem  in  the  most  primitive  way  : 
he  simply  kept  his  thumb  over  the  hole,  and 
in  this  way  succeeded  in  preventing  fuel  from 
escaping,  except  when,  because  of  the  strain  on 
his  hand,  it  became  absolutely  necessary  to 
change  thumbs  ! 

Such  was  the  manner  of  the  home-coming  ; 
and  the  aeroplane,  although  bearing  numerous 
signs  of  her  dramatic  encounter,  in  the  shape 
of  riddled  planes,  dented  fuselage,  penetrated 
tank,  and  what  not,  glided  gracefully  down 
to  earth,  making  an  excellent  landing. 

A  scarcely  less  remarkable  instance  of  first- 
aid  during  an  aerial  battle  is  that  in  which 

no 


First' A  id  in  Mid- Air 

Captain  A.  E.  Borton  (Black  Watch  and  R.F.C.) 
was  the  wounded  pilot,  and  Captain  Anthony 
Marshall  (28th  Light  Cavalry,  Indian  Army, 
and  R.F.C.)  was  the  observer,  both  of  whom 
eventually  received  the  D.S.O.,  in  "  recognition 
of  their  gallantry  and  devotion  to  duty."  The 
aviators  were  on  an  important  reconnaissance 
flight  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Staden,  on 
June  7th,  1915,  when  they  were  attacked  by 
a  hostile  aeroplane.  In  the  course  of  the 
combat  the  enemy  gunner  succeeded  in  getting 
home  a  bullet  which  severely  wounded  Captain 
Borton  in  the  neck  and  head.  The  result  was 
that  the  Captain  began  to  bleed  most  pro- 
fusely, and  it  was  clear  that  unless  something 
was  at  once  done  for  him  he  would  become 
unconscious.  There  was  no  time  to  return 
to  the  base,  despite  the  fact  that  the  machine 
was  a  fast  one,  for  the  aviators  were  faced  by 
the  all-important  fact  that  it  was  vitally 
necessary  for  the  reconnaissance  to  be  carried 
to  completion.  Somewhere  behind  the  lines  a 
red-collared  Staff  officer  was  waiting  anxiously 
for  the  report.  Captain  Marshall,  by  the  blood 
reddening  the  aviator's  coat  and  the  way  in 

III 


Thrilling  Deeds 

which  the  pilot  himself  was  sagging  in  his  seat, 
soon  realized  the  seriousness  of  his  comrade's 
wounds,  and  he  speedily  improvised  bandages 
with  which  he  and  the  pilot  himself,  while  the 
machine    was    still    pelting    through    the    air 
under  strict  control — amazing  achievement ! — 
succeeded  in  temporarily  binding  up  the  wound 
and  somewhat   stanching  the  flow  of  blood. 
That  done.  Captain  Borton  steered  his  machine 
over  the  course  which  had  been  mapped  out 
for  the  reconnaissance.     The  enemy  aeroplane, 
which  had  persistently  been  attacking  all  the 
time  that  first-aid  was  in  progress,  now  followed 
after  them,  its  pilot's  intention  being  to  drive 
them  back  and  so  prevent  them  from  making 
their  observations. 

Captain  Borton,  gallantly  summoning  all 
his  reserves  of  strength  and  keeping  his  head 
as  cool  as  man  can  under  such  circumstances, 
bravely  piloted  his  machine,  though  every 
moment  was  filled  with  agony  for  him  and 
brought  nearer  and  nearer  a  state  of  un- 
consciousness. Incredible  though  it  sounds, 
not  only  was  the  persistent  enemy  kept  at  a 
distance,   but   Captain   Marshall,   in   between 

1X2 


First' A  id  i7^  Mid- Air 

times  of  rattling  out  drums  of  cartridges  at  the 
foe,  was  also  busy  taking  most  valuable  notes. 
As  the  German  swooped  to  attack,  Captain 
Borton  banked  and  turned,  dived  or  rose  as 
the  exigencies  of  the  attack  demanded,  although 
concentration  of  mind  was  difficult.  It  was  a 
perfect  whirl  of  manoeuvring  and  out-manoeu- 
vring, and  yet  through  it  all  the  note-book  was 
being  entered  up  ;  until  at  last,  having  done 
all  that  which  they  had  been  sent  out  to  do, 
the  two  gallant  aviators  bethought  them  of 
the  home  station,  banked  suddenly  and  swung 
round,  to  the  momentary  bewilderment  of 
their  antagonist,  and  then,  with  their  engine 
all  out,  sped  up  and  on.  Each  second  now  was 
precious,  for  it  was  clear  to  Captain  Marshall 
that  his  companion  was  in  sorry  plight  and 
might  at  any  instant  crumple  up  in  his  seat, 
lose  control,  an-d  let  the  aeroplane  go  spin- 
ning earthward.  However,  by  a  mighty  effort. 
Captain  Borton  fought  the  insidious  desire  to 
let  go  of  all  things,  kept  his  controls  working 
almost  mechanically,  and  succeeded  in  making 
a  safe  landing.  Captain  Marshall,  immedi- 
ately he  had  seen  his  comrade  lifted  from  the 

H  113 


Thrilling  Deeds 

machine,  made  his  report,  which,  so  the  official 
record  put  it,  "was  as  detailed  and  complete 
for  the  last  as  it  was  for  the  first  part  of  the 
reconnaissance." 

Pluck  ?     Determination  ?     Yes  !     Verily  of 
such  stuff  are  the  kings  of  the  air  made  ! 


114 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Warneford,  V.C. 

IN  the  year  1892,  there  was  born  in  the 
Indian  city  of  Cooch-Behar  an  EngUsh 
boy  named  Warneford,  who  was  destined 
some  twenty  years  later  to  become  one  of  the 
heroes  of  our  Empire.  As  he  grew  to  man- 
hood, this  boy  was  fascinated  with  the  new 
science  of  flight,  and  shortly  after  the  great 
European  War  had  begun  he  was  able  to 
obtain  a  commission  in  the  Royal  Naval 
Air  Service,  being  posted  for  training  at  the 
Hendon  Aerodrome.  Here  he  obtained  his 
'  ticket '  in  February  1915.  Later,  he  went 
overseas,  and  was  one  of  those  brilliant  pilots 
who  quickly  made  names  for  themselves  by 
their  raids  into  the  territory  occupied  by  the 
enemy. 

Very  early  on  the  morning  of  June  7th,  1915, 
Lieutenant  Warneford  and  two  brother  officers, 
Flight-Lieutenants  Wilson  and  Mills,  went  up 
from  their  station  "  somewhere  in  Flanders," 

115 


Thrilling  Deeds 

bound  for  the  big  Zeppelin  hangars  at  Evere, 
a  few  miles  to  the  north  of  Brussels.  Aloft, 
the  early  morning  was  very  misty,  but  steering 
chiefly  by  compass  the  three  pilots  made  direct 
for  their  objective.  As  they  flew,  the  sHght 
haze  cleared  and  in  due  course  the  Belgian 
capital  could  be  seen  spread  out  below.  The 
gigantic  airship  sheds  of  the  Evere  aerodrome 
could  also  be  discerned,  and  accordingly  the 
machines  piloted  by  Wilson  and  Mills  turned 
to  attack,  whilst  Warneford,  making  away 
to  the  north,  came  round  in  a  gigantic  circle, 
an  aerial  spectator  of  his  comrades'  attempts 
on  the  sheds. 

Wilson  and  Mills  were  by  this  time  gliding 
lower  and  lower,  and  their  machines  being  now 
visible  from  the  ground  the  German  anti- 
aircraft batteries  guarding  the  sheds  were 
getting  to  work.  Quite  suddenly.  Mills  put 
the  nose  of  his  bus  down  and  swooped  at  the 
hangar.  He  was  soon  temporarily  out  of 
danger  from  the  '  Archibald  '  shells,  but  within 
range  of  rifle  fire,  which  was  at  once  opened 
upon  him.  He  could  see  the  nose  of  a  Zeppelin 
protruding  from  the  hangar,  so  he  knew  that 

ii6 


Wavjicford,  V.  C. 

if  he  succeeded  in  hitting  the  shed  he  would 
most  certainly  destroy  the  dirigible  inside. 
At  an  altitude  of  not  more  than  five  hundred 
feet  he  dropped  three  of  his  bombs  in  rapid 
succession.  One  of  these  missiles  went  through 
the  roof  of  the  hangar  as  if  it  had  been  card- 
board and,  bursting,  ripped  the  top  of  the 
envelope  of  the  airship  inside.  As  the  hydrogen 
from  the  torn  ballonets  rushed  out  and  mixed 
with  the  air,  it  was  immediately  set  on  fire 
by  the  burning  outer  fabric,  with  the  result  that 
the  airship  and  shed  instantly  became  a  roaring 
furnace.  The  hundreds  of  Belgians  who  had 
climbed  to  the  tops  of  their  houses  to  view 
the  affair  saw  clearly  a  pillar  of  flame  over  200 
feet  in  height  rise  into  the  still  morning  air, 
and  forgetting  the  fact  that  the  Hun  ruled 
them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  gave  vent  to  a  roar 
of  cheers. 

Meanwhile,  Wilson  and  Mills  on  their  fast 
little  mounts  were  climbing  aloft  as  rapidly  as 
their  engines  would  drive  them  ;  and,  except  for 
a  fewbullet  holes  in  the  planes  of  Mills'  machine, 
both  winged  their  way  back  toward  their  own 
base  none  the  worse  for  their  adventure. 

117 


Thrilling  Deeas 

Warneford,  observing  that  his  comrades  had 
effectively  '  strafed '  their  ZeppeHn,  made  away 
on  a  private  tour  of  his  own,  hoping  for  some- 
thing to  turn  up. 

The  Fates  were  kind  to  him,  and  about 
three  o'clock,  when  the  early  sun  was  driving 
the  last  of  the  night  mists  from  the  sky,  he 
sighted  in  the  far  distance  a  long  grey  shape. 
Hardly  believing  his  own  eyes,  he  flew  nearer, 
and  convinced  himself  that  ahead  there  was 
indeed  one  of  Count  Zeppelin's  gigantic  crea- 
tions on  the  wing.  He  immediately  tilted 
his  elevators,  and  the  sensitive  little  mono- 
plane in  which  he  was  flying  at  once  commenced 
to  cause  the  needle  of  his  altimeter  to  tremble 
along  the  feet.  In  those  early  days  it  was  only 
possible  to  '  strafe '  a  gas-bag  by  getting  above 
it,  and  he  knew  that  it  was  imperative  that 
he  should  be  well  above  the  monster  before  he 
commenced  to  attack.  The  8o-horse-power 
Gnome  had  gallantly  set  him  at  a  splendid 
altitude  before  the  men  in  the  cars  of  the 
Zeppelin  discovered  the  small  speck  in  the  sky 
that  spelled  terrible  danger  to  themselves. 
They  at  once  went  ahead  at  full  speed,  and 

ii8 


Warncford,  V.C. 

tilting  their  elevators  and  letting  go  some  of 
their  water-ballast  attempted  to  rise  to  the 
same  level  as  their  antagonist  and  there  keep 
him  at  bay — by  means  of  the  machine-guns 
mounted  in  the  gondolas. 

Warneford  at  once  noted  the  movement  of 
his  gigantic  antagonist  and  decided  to  attack 
before  the  Zeppelin,  which  he  knew  could 
climb  even  faster  than  his  own  little  mount, 
out-manoeuvred  him. 

But  though  he  wished  to  drive  in  upon  his 
quarry,  the  latter  doubled  away  and  he  was 
compelled  to  chase  the  monster  for  some  time. 
Having  the  heels  of  her,  he  was  fortunately 
able  to  climb  as  he  chased,  and  at  the  same 
time  gain  steadily  upon  his  enemy.  When  the 
Zeppelin  had  reached  an  altitude  of  6000  feet 
she  temporarily  stopped  climbing,  and  it  was 
at  this  juncture  that  Warneford  swooped 
down  upon  her.  The  speed  indicator  moved 
higher  and  higher  until  the  terrific  speed  of 
no  miles  an  hour  was  being  recorded,  and  still 
he  dived  toward  the  broad  back  of  the  airship. 
He  could  not  hear  the  crackle  of  the  enemy 
machine-guns,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  were 

119 


Thrilling  Deeds 

firing  at  him  all  this  time,  though  he  presented 
an  almost  impossible  target.  At  last  he  was 
directly  above  the  dirigible,  and  the  observer 
on  top  must  have  screamed  some  awful 
messages  into  his  telephone  in  those  last  few 
minutes  of  his  life.  It  must  have  been  appa- 
rent to  this  man  that  the  mad  Englishman 
intended  to  ram  them  and  send  all  to  '  glory  ' 
together,  for  the  under-carriage  was  little 
more  than  twenty  yards  above  the  top  of  the 
Zeppelin  when  Warneford  flattened  out  and 
let  go  his  bombs.  At  this  range  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  miss,  and  in  fact  he  dropped 
three  bombs,  all  of  which  took  effect.  In  an 
instant,  as  it  seemed,  the  huge  envelope  was  a 
sheet  of  flame.  Then  a  tremendous  explosion 
shook  the  air. 

Although  Warneford  had  quickly  banked 
away  to  get  clear,  the  flames  from  his  victim 
singed  him  ;  then  the  great  up-rush  of  air  from 
the  doomed  airship  caught  his  swaying  little 
mount  and  tossed  him  upward  as  though  the 
machine  were  in  the  grip  of  a  tornado,  causing 
Warneford  to  make  an  involuntary  '  loop.' 
She  then  put  her  nose  down  and,  with  the 

120 


Warneford,  V.C. 

dazed  pilot  still  strapped  in  his  seat,  com- 
menced to  rush  headlong  for  the  ground. 
At  this  second  the  young  pilot  regained  control 
of  himself,  and  in  a  few  moments  had  also 
resumed  command  of  his  mount.  His  Gnome 
was  back-firing  and  missing,  which  gave  him 
a  pretty  sure  indication  that  something  was 
wrong  with  his  petrol  supply.  How  could 
matters  be  righted  ?  Warneford  made  up  his 
mind  to  go  down  and  attempt  to  rectify 
things  before  any  of  his  enemies  could  capture 
him.  He  selected  a  fairly  deserted  piece  of 
country,  alighted,  and,  even  as  he  stopped, 
he  was  out  of  his  seat  and  round  to  the  Gnome. 
Once  more  he  was  back  peering  into  the  fuselage, 
for  oil  was  running  down,  which  meant  a  bad 
leakage  of  petrol.  Quickly  he  noted  which  of 
the  two  tanks  that  he  carried  was  leaking, 
emptied  its  remaining  fuel  into  the  other  tank, 
reconnected  the  feed-pipe  to  the  carburettor, 
then  leaped  into  his  seat  again.  This  work 
had  taken  him  nearly  thirty-five  minutes,  and 
already  he  could  observe  German  troops  coming 
across  the  fields,  firing  as  they  ran.  These 
were  moments  pregnant  with  excitement  for 

121 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Warneford.  If  his  engine  '  fired '  he  would  be 
up  and  away  well  before  the  enemy  reached 
him,  but  if  it  refused  to  start  there  was  nothing 
for  him  but  a  German  prison — at  the  best. 
At  his  command  a  Belgian  peasant  swung  his 
propeller  for  him,  and  at  once  the  Gnome 
started  into  a  healthy  roar.  Then  opening  her 
out  he  went  bouncing  along  the  ground,  and 
with  a  steady  rush  soared  aloft  toward  the 
sea  and  safety.  Behind  him  the  blazing 
wreckage  of  his  victim  had  fallen  upon  the 
convent  buildings  of  St  Elizabeth,  which  had 
also  caught  fire,  and  a  great  coil  of  black  smoke 
was  rising  into  the  morning  sky. 

Warneford  soon  sighted  the  sea,  and  making 
along  the  coast  espied  Cape  Gris-Nez,  where 
he  landed,  and  shortly  afterward  the  news 
was  sent  out  far  and  wide  telling  the  story 
of  this  first  successful  fight  with  a  Zeppelin 
in  mid-air.  Warneford's  name  was  in  every- 
body's mouth,  and  after  the  Legion  of  Honour 
had  been  bestowed  upon  him  by  our  gallant 
Alhes,  he  was  received  by  King  George,  who 
personally  pinned  the  Victoria  Cross  upon  his 
blue    tunic.      News    which    filtered    through 

122 


Wanicford,  V.C, 

revealed  the  consternation  of  the  Germans 
over  the  loss  of  the  great  gas-bag.  Strangely 
perturbed,  too,  were  the  Zeppelin-builders, 
and  the  reason  for  this  was  that  the  destroyed 
dirigible  had  not  only  contained  a  picked 
crew,  but  also  carried  a  number  of  experts 
from  the  factory,  who  were  making  the  trip 
for  experimental  purposes  ;  and  though  other 
gas-bags  could  be  built  and  other  crews 
trained,  it  was  practically  impossible  to  re- 
place quickly  the  expert  brains  which  had 
also  perished. 

Unfortunately,  the  gallant  Warneford  did 
not  live  long  to  enjoy  his  well-earned  honours. 
Ten  days  after  his  great  and  successful  duel 
he  was  in  Paris  and  went  aloft  in  a  machine 
that  was  just  as  stable  and  easy  to  control 
as  his  own  Morane-Saulnier  '  Parasol '  was 
difficult.  With  him,  as  passenger,  was  an 
American  journalist.  When  they  were  at 
a  few  hundred  feet,  the  machine  was  seen 
to  nose-dive,  and,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
Warneford  had  no  space  to  pull  her  out,  the 
big  bus  crashed  to  the  ground  and  was  wrecked, 
killing  instantly  both  pilot  and  passenger. 

123 


Thrilling  Deeds 

The  end  of  the  hero  came  as  a  great  shock 
to  the  world,  but  his  name  will  ever  be 
remembered  as  the  man  who,  unaided  by 
the  devices  that  were  later  used  by  airmen 
to  bring  down  dirigibles,  was  the  first  to 
attack  and  successfully  destroy  a  Zeppelin  in 
the  air. 


124 


CHAPTER  IX 

Flying  zvhile  Dying 

THERE  is  a  story  told  of  two  French 
airmen  who,  while  on  a  reconnais- 
sance, met  with  disaster  in  mid-air 
— a  tragic  mishap  whereby  the  pilot  was 
robbed  of  his  sight  and  the  observer  was 
mortally  wounded ;  and  yet  both  returned 
to  headquarters  with  their  information.  The 
dying  observer  gave  directions  to  the  blinded 
pilot,  telling  him  when  to  fly  high  and 
when  to  fly  low,  and  thus,  followed  by  burst- 
ing shrapnel,  the  heroes  got  their  machine 
home. 

We  are  concerned  only  with  British  airmen, 
however,  so  we  may  not  do  more  than  mention 
that  grim  story — perhaps  one  of  the  grimmest 
of  the  war,  certainly  one  of  the  most  heroic  ; 
but  the  flying  men  of  Britain  also  number 
among  their  heroes  who  have  '  gone  west  ' 
men  who  similarly  finished  their  flights  racing 
against  certain  death. 

125 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Such  a  one,  for  instance,  was  Lieutenant 
Rhodes-Moorhouse. 

An  order  came  to  this  young  officer  to  bomb 
the  vital  railway  junction  at  Courtrai.  This 
was  a  task  after  his  own  heart,  for  besides 
being  exceedingly  dangerous,  it  would,  if  suc- 
cessful, disorganize  the  enemy's  communica- 
tions. Through  Courtrai  German  troop  trains 
continually  bore  reinforcements  to  Ypres — 
that  long-held,  blood-consecrated  salient  of 
the  British  line  in  Flanders.  The  destruction 
of  the  station,  the  tearing  up  of  yards  of  the 
steel  road,  would  effectively  hinder  the  flow 
of  these  reinforcements,  as  Rhodes-Moorhouse 
knew.  He  knew,  also,  that  there  were  anti- 
aircraft guns  everywhere,  for  the  Germans 
realized  that  important  junctions  must  attract 
British  airmen,  and  a  warm  reception  awaited 
the  man  who  would  dare  to  come  humming 
overhead. 

Such  risks,  however,  are  as  the  spice  of  life 
to  the  flying  man,  and  the  Lieutenant  mounted 
to  his  seat,  waved  au  revoir  to  his  comrades 
at  the  air  station,  and  alone,  on  that  April  27th, 
1915,  guided  his  rapid  biplane  over  the  German 

126 


Flying  while  Dying 

lines,  potted  at  here  and  there  by  *  Archibalds,* 
but  holding  jauntily  on  his  way.  Soon  it 
seemed  that  every  anti-aircraft  gun  within  range 
was  in  action ;  shrapnel  puffs  hung  around 
the  intrepid  flier  like  balls  of  wool,  and  bullets 
whistled  all  about  him.  And  these  came  not 
only  from  the  shells,  for  innumerable  rifles 
blazed  from  the  trenches  ;  every  German  grey- 
coat within  shooting  distance  let  fly — and 
rifle  bullets  are  by  no  means  to  be  despised 
by  the  airman,  since  they  can  pierce  a  petrol 
tank,  or  smash  a  delicate  steering  gear,  to 
say  nothing  of  finding  a  mark  in  the  pilot's 
body. 

But  the  gods  of  the  air  and  of  brave  men 
seemed  to  be  watching  over  the  gallant  aviator, 
for  he  escaped  all  injury,  and  succeeded  in 
making  many  valuable  observations  of  the 
German  positions  and  their  strength.  Though 
keeping  at  a  good  height  he  was  flying  not 
too  high  to  see  that  which  he  was  out  to 
see. 

Courtrai  at  last  lay  beneath  him — Courtrai 
with  its  fussing  trains,  its  thousands  of  cannon- 
fodder  ready  for  the  inferno  of  the  front  lines, 

127 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Courtrai  with  its  massed  anti-aircraft  guns. 
The  town  looked  a  fine  mark  for  bombs,  but 
Rhodes-Moorhouse  knew  from  past  experience 
that  there  is  Uttle  certainty  of  hitting  any 
mark  when  one  is  many  thousands  of  feet  above 
the  ground.  He  also  knew  well  enough  that 
there  is  no  little  risk  in  coming  down  low 
enough  to  be  sure  of  doing  it.  But,  the  mark 
had  to  be  hit,  those  were  the  orders,  and  with- 
out stopping  to  calculate  chances  he  'planed 
down  from  his  height  of  comparative  safety, 
and  with  the  precision  acquired  by  the  cool- 
headed,  practised  airman,  came  to  within 
300  feet  of  the  railway  junction. 

Three  hundred  feet!  Think  of  it!  Not 
so  high  above  the  ground  as  is  the  golden  cross 
of  St  Paul's  Cathedral.  And  within  range — 
easy  range — of  the  rifle  of  every  German  there, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  '  Archibalds  '  ! 

As  the  machine  ceased  volplaning  and  righted 
itself,  gliding  upon  an  even  keel,  as  it  were, 
every  rifleman  blazed  away,  every  anti-aircraft 
gun  spat  fire  ;  bullets  sped  upward  through 
the  fabric  of  the  planes,  and  whistled  their 
tunes   of   death   in   the   airman's   ears.     And 

128 


Flying  while  Dying 

then  came  new  sounds — the  explosion  of 
bombs  dropped  in  quick  succession  as  Rhodes- 
Moorhouse  released  them  from  their  gear. 
Holes  yawned  in  the  ground,  the  steel  lines 
of  the  railway  were  wrenched  from  their  ties, 
and  the  junction  presented  a  scene  of  woeful 
destruction.  Men  scattered  in  all  directions 
as  the  balls  of  death  came  hurtling  through 
the  air  ;  but  some  stuck  to  their  posts  and 
bullets  continued  to  whistle  about  the  Lieu- 
tenant. Suddenly  one  struck  him  in  the  thigh 
with  a  sickening  thud  that  told  him  it  was  no 
light  wound  he  had  received.  Soon  his  gar- 
ments were  wet  with  his  blood  and  he  realized 
that  probably  the  only  way  to  save  his  life 
was  to  go  down  at  once  and  surrender  to  the 
Germans. 

Rhodes-Moorhouse  gritted  his  teeth  :  away 
back  at  the  Flying  Base  were  officers  waiting 
for  his  report,  and  if  the  god  of  good  luck  would 
have  it  so,  they  should  get  that  for  which 
they  waited.  All  the  bombs  were  gone  now, 
and  the  biplane  swept  on  its  way.  Suddenly 
it  banked,  so  steeply  that  the  foes  beneath 
thought  that  the  airman  was  about  to  come 
I  I2q 


Thrilling  Deeds 

tumbling  in  their  midst.     They  did  not  know 
Rhodes-Moorhouse.      Instead    of    falhng,    he 
turned  an  amazing  circle,  and,  in  order  to  get 
up  top  speed,  rushed  downward  to  within  a 
hundred    feet    of    the   hard-working    gunners 
and  riflemen.     Then— up,  and  up— rising  from 
the  depths  of  danger  to  the  heights  of  safety,  he 
headed  swiftly  for  the  Base.     Realizing  that 
the  prey  they  had  thought  certain  was  escap- 
ing, the  Germans  increased  the  intensity  and 
rapidity  of  their  fire.     The  Englishman  seemed 
to  be  flying  in  a  cloud  of  shrapnel ;  it  would 
be  remarkable  if  he   escaped  further  injury. 
He  did  not  escape  :   once  again  that  stinging, 
burning  pain,  and  the  shock  of  it  made  him 
all  but  lose  control.     A  momentary  gasp,   a 
brief  haze  before  the  eyes,  a  quick  pulling  of 
himself  together — and  his  now  clearer  mind 
told  him  the  truth  :    he  was  wounded  to  the 
death. 

The  Base — the  men  waiting  at  the  Base  for 
his  return  :  that  thought  alone  sustained  him. 
The  biplane  answered  his  slightest  touch  and 
seemed  to  leap  upward  in  bounds  away  from 
the  drumming  bullets  and  the  sharp  crack  of 

130 


Flying  ivhile  Dying 

the  bursting  shrapnel.  At  top  speed  he  went, 
for  it  was  to  be  a  race  to  reach  home  before 
death  for  ever  silenced  him.  He  was  still  over 
the  German  lines,  but  he  swept  on  past  them, 
across  No  Man's  Land  and  over  the  British 
front  line.  Even  then  he  did  not  go  down  to 
get  the  medical  aid  he  so  sorely  needed  :  at 
the  Base  only  must  he  stop. 

He  now  commenced  to  drop  from  the  giddy 
altitude,  still  driving  his  machine  at  full 
speed,  until  coming  at  last  within  sight  of  the 
Flying  Base  he  shut  off  his  engine,  set  his 
machine  at  a  decline,  and,  cool  as  a  man 
in  the  full  flush  of  life,  though  his  body 
was  numb  with  coming  death  and  a  mist 
was  before  his  eyes,  volplaned  to  a  perfect 
landing. 

Men  rushed  to  his  assistance,  not  knowing 
how  sorely  he  needed  it,  nor  yet  how  useless 
their  help,  save  to  get  him  out  of  the  winged 
chariot  of  death.  But  they  knew  when  they 
saw  his  face  and  lifted  his  limp  body  from  the 
seax.  .  .  . 

He  made  his  report  calmly,  like  a  soldier 
who  has  done  unscathed  what  he  went  to  do  ; 

131 


Thrilling  Deeds 

men  accustomed  to  coolness  marvelled  at  him 
as  they  carried  him  to  hospital. 

He  died,  and  in  his  death,  as  "  Eyewitness  " 
wrote,  the  nation  lost  "  a  very  gallant  life." 
Could  any  man  have  a  better,  nobler  epitaph  ? 


CHAPTER  X 

Resetted  by  Airmen 

TO  say  that  a  roaring  aeroplane  swooped 
down  through  the  air,  landed,  and  in 
the  presence  of  a  host  of  running  foes 
waited  for  a  stranded  man  to  straddle  across 
its  fuselage  and  then  pounded  back  into  the 
sky  with  its  salvage,  is  to  lay  oneself  open  to 
the  charge  of  being  melodramatic.  But  it 
nevertheless  is  sober  fact  that  on  more  than 
one  occasion  during  the  war  an  intrepid  pilot, 
flying  at  a  great  height,  having  seen  a  com- 
rade's machine  go  crashing  earthward,  has 
dived  after  him,  intent  upon  giving  what  aid 
might  be  possible,  realizing  that  if  the  unfor- 
tunate pilot  escaped  more  than  likely  death  he 
would  be  taken  prisoner. 

High  up  in  the  clear  blue  sky  skimmed 
the  glittering  dot  which  friend  and  foe 
alike  knew  to  be  an  aeroplane,  and,  because 
it  came  from  seaward,  recognized  it  as  a 
British  machine  out  on  a  reconnaissance  and, 

133 


Thrilling  Deeds 

maybe,  on  a  bombing  expedition.  Far  out  to 
sea  grim  grey  outlines  belched  fire  and  smoke 
— and  away  behind  the  hills,  that  seemed  like 
impregnable  barriers  to  victorious  progress, 
the  earth  went  up  in  miniature  eruptions ; 
while  from  gun-pits  hidden  on  the  shelving 
beach,  or  in  amongst  the  ravines  which  had 
been  won  in  many  a  sanguinary  battle,  the 
*  heavies '  of  the  Anzacs  hurled  their  little 
less  destructive  high  explosives  at  the  enemy 
hidden  in  cunningly  devised  dug-outs  on  hill- 
side and  in  gulch. 

And  the  aviator — it  was  Flight-Sub-Lieu- 
tenant Smylie,  R.N.A.S.,  speeding  inland — was 
out  to  bomb  the  railway  station,  Ferrijik 
Junction.  The  shimmering  planes  caught  the 
sunlight  and  gleamed  like  points  of  gold ; 
white  puffs  of  smoke  broke  out  all  around, 
yet  although  the  covering  of  the  planes  was 
riddled  by  the  shrapnel,  the  Royal  Naval  Air 
Service  man  held  on.  Nerves  of  steel,  head 
clear  as  age-old  wine,  every  faculty  alert,  he 
was  picking  up  this  tit-bit  of  information, 
that  seeming  anthill  with  swarms  of  ants 
which  none  but  an  observer  from  above  could 

134 


Res 02 ted  by  Airmen 

discover  ;  and  he  cared  nothing  for  the  '  Archi- 
balds,' except  that  they  might — who  could 
tell  ? — send  him  hurtling  below,  in  which  case 
General  Headquarters  would  never  know  what 
he  had  found  out. 

And  then,  when  the  work  was  almost  done, 
came  the  chmax  :  an  ominous  silence — then 
the  thunder  again — then  once  more  silence, 
and  so  on.  The  airman  knew  what  had 
happened — his  engine  was  playing  him  false  ! 
There  is  a  vast  difference  between  being 
'  pinked '  by  a  foe  and  being  treated  scurvily 
by  your  own  machine  ;  and  the  man  in  the 
single-seater  biplane  soaring  so  gaily  a  moment 
before  over  the  hills  of  Gallipoli  said  strong 
things  about  the  engine  which  in  calmer 
moments  he  had  often  lovingly  tended. 

You  cannot  repair  a  fault  in  an  engine  when 
you  are  in  mid-air,  although,  if  you  know 
how,  you  can  do  miracles  of  many  kinds  with 
aeroplanes  while  they  are  on  the  wing.  In 
this  present  instance  it  was  a  case  of  going 
down  to  see  what  was  wrong  and  trying  to 
put  it  right.  So  Lieutenant  Smylie  put  his 
machine    at    an    angle    and   went    volplaning 

135 


Thrillmg  Deeds 

down  the  giddy  depths  of  air,  taking  the 
man-bird's  chance  that  he  might  land  in  a 
lonely  place. 

One  thing  consoled  him  in  his  wrath,  and 
that  was  that  he  had  disposed,  usefully,  as 
far  as  he  could  make  out,  of  all  his  bombs  but 
one  ;  and  Ferrijik  Junction  was  smoking  and 
blazing  as  a  result.  He  snapped  his  teeth 
together  grimly  as  he  thought  of  the  luck 
that  was  really  his  after  all  in  having  that  one 
left — it  would  come  in  handy  later,  perhaps. 

The  biplane  glided  down  like  a  swallow, 
the  earth  seemed  to  be  rising  up  to  meet  it ; 
an  amateur  sitting  in  the  fuselage  would  have 
felt  his  heart  stop  with  the  fear  of  the  coming 
crash.  But,  instead,  there  was  a  slight  jar, 
a  rebound,  and  another  jar  slighter  than  ever  ; 
then  stillness  except  for  the  quivering  twang 
of  the  planes.  Quickly  unstrapping  himself, 
the  airman  stepped  out,  slipped  his  goggles 
over  on  to  his  forehead  and  began  to  inspect 
the  engine  which  had  brought  him  down,  as 
he  realized,  in  the  enemy's  territory.  What, 
however,  he  did  not  know  at  that  moment  was 
that  a  party  of  Turks  had  seen  the  volplaning 

136 


Rescued  by  Airmen 

machine,  and,  judging  the  spot  where  it  would 
land,  were  rushing  toward  it,  hugely  delighted 
at  the  prospect  of  their  prize.  The  Lieutenant 
tinkering  away  at  his  engine,  having  dis- 
covered the  secret  of  its  awkwardness,  suddenly 
straightened  his  bent  back.  Two  things  he 
had  heard — the  rushing  of  feet  behind  him 
and  the  hum  of  something  above.  Quickly 
looking  round,  he  saw  a  number  of  Turks 
pelting  along  the  rough  ground,  so  near  that 
he  could  see  the  grins  of  victory  on  their 
dirty  faces. 

"  No  need  to  try  to  tinker  the  old  thing  now," 
he  muttered  to  himself,  and  made  a  leap  away 
from  the  aeroplane,  after  having  set  fire  to 
his  machine,  knowing  that  this  would  explode 
the  bomb  and  so  ensure  the  destruction  of  the 
aeroplane.     At  the  same  time  he  looked  up. 

Wliat  he  saw  set  his  blood  a-tingling — a 
single-seater  biplane  similar  to  his  own  was 
swooping  down,  and  he  could  see  the  vari- 
coloured circles  on  her  planes  which  told  him 
she  was  British.  And  she  was  but  a  few 
hundred  feet  above  him,  yet  coming  down 
swiftly  as  a  stone  drops. 


Thrilling  Deeds 

But  would  she  get  down  in  time  to  rescue 
him  before  that  band  of  yelhng  Turks  reached 
him  ?  SmyHe  did  not  know  :  all  that  he  did 
know  was  that  they  should  never  touch  his 
machine.  The  trouble  was  that  the  descending 
aeroplane  might  alight  so  near  the  stricken 
machine  that  when  the  explosion  took  place 
it  might  be  damaged  and  its  pilot  be  wounded. 
Lieutenant  Smylie,  clear-eyed,  clear-headed, 
was  watching  the  one  small  bomb  that  re- 
mained in  place,  and,  his  revolver  ready  in  his 
hand,  he  ran  back,  determined  to  blow  the 
machine,  and  any  who  got  near  her,  into 
smithereens  :  never  should  his  British  'plane 
fall  into  the  enemy's  hands. 

The  hum  of  the  coming  aeroplane  had  now 
turned  to  a  thunderous  roar,  and  the  airman 
knew  that  it  could  be  but  a  few  feet  from  the 
ground.     Then  came  a  hail : 

"  Quick,  man  !  " 

And  the  aviator  shot — shot  with  an  accuracy 
that  was  amazing  ;  there  was  a  sharp  explosion, 
a  cloud  of  smoke,  a  rain  of  wreckage — and  the 
advancing  Turks  saw  nothing  of  their  antici- 
pated prize  but  scraps  of  wood  and  steel. 

138 


Res C2 ted  by  Airmen 

But  they  saw  something  that  made  them 
frenzied ;  the  second  aeroplane  was  on  the 
ground,  and  the  stranded  airman  was  sitting 
across  the  fuselage,  there  being  no  other  place 
for  him  to  sit.  In  the  brief  moments  that 
had  elapsed  between  the  firing  of  the  revolver 
and  the  descent  of  the  shattered  wreckage  he 
had  swung  his  comrade's  propeller,  had  called 
contact,  and  had  leaped  astride  the  fuselage 
at  the  moment  the  big  bird  was  on  the  rise. 
There  was  a  rush  by  the  Turks,  who  were  yelling 
excitedly ;  incredible  though  it  may  seem, 
not  one  of  them  fired  a  shot  at  the  aviators, 
who  could  have  been  killed  outright.  Instead, 
they  tried  to  seize  the  biplane,  as  though  they 
would  pull  her  down  to  earth  once  more. 
One  or  two,  indeed,  did  manage  to  snatch 
hold  of  her  tail  as  she  quivered  to  the  purring 
engine,  but  they  were  shaken  off  like  so 
many  rats,  and  up  into  the  clear  blueness  the 
biplane  went  with  her  double  burden — up 
and  out  seaward,  with  the  shrapnel  bursting 
all  around  her.  The  rescuer — it  was  Flight- 
Squadion-Commander  Richard  Bell-Davies — 
sat   grimly   in   his   seat   and   manoeuvred   his 

139 


Thrilling  Deeds 

machine  into  the  heights  of  safety,  while  the 
rescued  held  on  grimly  to  the  fuselage  with 
hands  and  feet. 

Commander  Davies  later  received  the  V.C., 
and  Lieutenant  Smylie  the  D.S.O.,  and  the 
announcement  of  the  awards  referred  to  the 
affair  as  "a  feat  of  airmanship  that  can 
seldom  have  been  equalled  for  skill  and 
gallantry." 

Captain  S.  Grant-Dalton  (Yorks  and  R.F.C.), 
on  escort  duty  with  a  raiding  party  in  Egypt, 
was  returning  home  at  the  head  of  his  flock, 
when  one  of  the  machines  went  gliding  to 
earth,  badly  mauled  by  gun-fire. 

The  Turkish  gunners  had  been  able  to  get 
in  a  good  deal  of  practice,  seeing  that  the 
British  air-forces  had  not  been  idle.  So  their 
shooting  was  not  so  bad,  as  Second-Lieutenant 
Paris,  observer  to  Captain  Grant-Dalton, 
realized  when  he  heard  the  scream  of  flying 
shells,  and  what  was  worse,  saw  the  British 
machine  go  dropping  to  earth.  Lieutenant 
Paris  promptly  informed  his  pilot  of  the  mishap 
and  the  Captain  instantly  made  up  his  mind. 

140 


Rescued  by  Airmen 

The  machine  must  not  be  allowed  to  be  cap- 
tured by  the  Turks.  It  was  evident  that  its 
pilot  was  unable  to  get  it  to  rise,  for  through 
his  binoculars  Captain  Grant-Dalton  could 
see  him  labouring  bravely  but  vainly  trying 
to  get  it  to  start.  There  was  nothing  for  it, 
Captain  Grant-Dalton  decided,  but  to  slide 
down  those  intangible  precipices,  bomb  the 
stranded  machine,  and  carry  off  its  pilot. 

Scarcely  had  Lieutenant  Paris  realized  what 
was  in  his  pilot's  mind,  when  the  machine  was 
diving  headlong  to  earth,  the  wind  whistling 
as  it  rushed  past,  and  the  Turks  playing  a  rare 
game  with  their  '  Archies,'  striving  valiantly  and 
perseveringly  to  get  the  range,  the  speed  of  the 
aeroplane  making  that  no  easy  matter.  This 
was  lucky,  for  it  helped  the  airmen  and  their 
machine  to  run  the  destructive  gauntlet,  and 
they  succeeded  in  landing  on  the  ground  near 
to  the  derelict  'plane. 

It  did  not  take  long  for  Captain  Grant- 
Dalton  to  put  his  plans  into  action.  Having 
satisfied  himself  that  the  fallen  machine  could 
not  be  made  to  fly  again  in  the  time  at  his 
disposal,  he  rendered  it  utterly  useless  to  the 

141 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Turks,  who  he  knew  would  soon  be  hurry mg 
up  to  take  possession  of  the  booty.  Then 
with  a  cheery  smile  he  took  the  pilot  of  the 
destroyed  machine  aboard  his  own  and  car- 
ried him  safely  away  from  danger  to  the  home 
aerodrome. 

The  venue  of  the  little  thrill  which  we  are 
about  to  record  is  given  vaguely  enough  as 
"the  Eastern  theatre  of  war,"  and  the  names 
of  the  two  officers  concerned  are  hidden 
behind  the  initials  M.  and  F.  However,  the 
absence  of  names  cannot  detract  from  the 
dramatic  interest  of  the  story. 

The  story  runs  that  Captain  M.  and 
Captain  F.  went  up  on  separate  machines  to 
spy  out  the  land  and  to  take  photographs 
of  a  certain  position.  Long  before  they 
reached  their  objective,  they  sighted  two 
black  dots  which  they  very  quickly  identified 
as  enemy  machines.  This  meant  that  the 
course  of  good  photography  would  not  run 
smoothly,  because  the  pilots  of  those  black- 
cross  machines  would  have  to  be  reckoned 
with.     Not  that  the  British  pilots  particularly 

142 


Rescued  by  A  irmen 

objected  to  a  few  extra  foes,  and,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  to  have  a  '  scrap '  in  mid-air  is  a  much 
better  way  of  passing  the  time  than  to  be 
'  strafed '  by  some  foohsh  gunners  in  safety 
beneath  you. 

So  the  British  sailed  in  gaily  with  Lewis 
guns  ready  for  the  fray,  although  they  decided 
to  allow  their  enemies  to  go  on  with  their 
patrol  unmolested  as  long  as,  in  their  turn, 
they  themselves  were  permitted  to  take  photo- 
graphs. But  this  did  not  meet  with  the 
approval  of  their  enemies,  who  made  for  the 
two  British  machines,  and  a  most  exciting  few 
minutes  followed,  during  which  the  aeroplanes 
made  circles  around  their  opponents,  or  climbed 
high  or  drove  low — and  always  the  machine- 
guns  rat-tatted  at  one  another  as  they  passed. 
The  time  came  when  the  foe  decided  they 
had  had  enough  for  one  day,  and  with  a  part- 
ing drum  they  turned  and  made  off,  much 
to  the  delight  of  the  Britons,  who  thought 
they  could  now  proceed  with  their  interrupted 
snapshotting. 

But  man  proposes  and  a  bullet  in  a  petrol 
tank  disposes,  as  Captain  F.  discovered.     The 

143 


Thrilling  Deeds 

engine  spluttered  and  tried  to  work,  but 
finally  gave  up  in  despair,  and  Captain  F., 
positively  sick  over  his  hard  luck,  began  to 
spiral  down.  Below  were  many  ant-like 
figures,  who  were  no  doubt  hugely  delighted 
at  the  spectacle  of  their  enemy  in  forced 
descent,  for  they  thought  that  presently  he 
would  have  to  land  and  be  compelled  to 
surrender  both  himself  and  his  machine. 

But  those  men  did  not  know  of  what  stuff 
Captain  F.  was  made,  and  they  did  not  know 
that  while  he  was  corkscrewing  through  the 
air  he  was  working  out  a  plan  to  frustrate  his 
foes,  vowing  that  they  should  never  lay  hands 
upon  his  machine  or  the  photographs  he  had 
taken. 

Neither  did  the  waiting  enemies  know 
that  the  pilot  of  the  untouched  machine  had 
also  formed  a  plan  which,  if  it  were  suc- 
cessful, would  rob  them  of  every  scrap  of 
self-satisfaction. 

Captain  F.  came  to  earth  as  lightly  as  a  bird, 
jumped  out  of  his  aeroplane,  and  looked  it  over 
quickly  to  see  if  it  was  at  all  possible  to  tinker 
it  up  and  so   slip  away  before   the   enemy, 

144 


Res  a  led  by  Airmen 

whom  he  could  see  within  a  short  distance 
rushing  toward  him,  could  come  up.  He  found 
that  there  was  no  chance  of  doing  anything 
in  the  time  at  his  disposal,  and,  determined 
to  snatch  one  prize  at  least  from  the  foe,  he 
deliberately  set  fire  to  the  derelict  machine. 
The  leaping  flames  and  the  rising  cloud  of 
smoke  told  the  approaching  foe  what  had 
happened,  and  with  yells  of  rage  they  increased 
their  speed,  hoping  to  arrive  in  time  to  put 
out  the  fire. 

Captain  F.  stood  near  his  burning  mount, 
waiting  for  the  moment  to  come  when  he 
would  have  to  surrender.  But  that  moment 
never  came.  There  was  a  droning  roar  over- 
head, and  looking  up  he  saw  the  machine 
piloted  by  Captain  M.  dropping  toward  him. 
Instantly  he  realized  what  his  comrade  in- 
tended, and  needless  to  say  his  heart  beat 
quickly  as  the  significance  of  it  burst  upon 
him.  The  running  enemies  were  so  near  now 
that  it  seemed  impossible  for  Captain  M.  to 
reach  his  friend  in  time  to  pick  him  up,  and 
to  fail  meant  the  capture  of  the  heroic 
Captain  F. 

K  145 


Thrilling  Deeds 

The  aeroplane  came  to  earth  near  to 
Captain  F.  and  its  pilot  gave  a  shout  of 
"  Hurry  !  " — as  though  the-  stranded  aviator 
would  need  any  exhortation !  He  dashed 
over  the  intervening  yards  as  though  on  the 
running  track  at  school,  and  in  a  moment 
was  beside  the  now  stationary  'plane.  No 
time  for  thanks  yet — action,  not  words,  was 
desired.  Because  there  was  no  other  safe 
place  to  which  he  could  scramble  in  time, 
Captain  F.,  without  undue  flurry,  mounted  the 
engine  cowl  and  sat  on  it.  Instantly  Captain 
M.  let  out  his  engine,  and  speeding  along 
the  ground  for  some  distance  his  machine 
mounted  into  the  air.  The  enemy,  shout- 
ing and  roaring,  tore  madly  toward  the 
escaping  prey,  and  were  only  200  yards  away 
when  the  machine  rose  like  a  bird,  one  man 
manipulating  the  '  joy-stick  '  and  levers  and  the 
other  clinging  on  to  the  cowl ! 


146 


CHAPTER  XI 

Talcs  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

THE  Navy  which  had  for  years 
toasted  '  The  Day  '  when  it  should 
hold  a  reckoning  with  the  sea-dogs  of 
Britain  scurried  to  harbour  when  the  war- 
clouds  burst,  confining  its  activities  to  an 
occasional  dash  upon  unfortified  towns  or 
harmless  fishing  vessels,  save  for  a  few  raiders 
that  managed  to  elude  British  watchfulness 
and  the  submarines  that  were  to  open  a  new 
chapter  of  f rightfulness.  When  the  High  Seas 
Fleet  did  come  out  in  force  at  Jutland  it  was 
defeated.  The  Germans,  therefore,  so  far  as 
the  North  Sea  is  concerned,  have  done  little 
more  than  patrol  the  Belgian  coast  behind  the 
shelter  of  their  mine-field.  But,  even  these 
patrol  vessels  have  not  been  left  in  unchallenged 
possession  of  the  small  area  of  water,  for  the 
naval  airmen  of  Britain  have  on  several  occa- 
sions swooped  out  of  the  blue  depths  of  sky 
and  fearlessly  attacked  them. 

147 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Such  encounters  are  symbolical  of  the 
new  methods  of  warfare  and  provide  the 
naval  counterpart  of  the  spectacular  incidents 
which  have  taken  place  every  day  on  land. 
The  fight  of  a  seaplane,  piloted  by  FHght- 
Sub-Lieutenant  James  Ferrand,  R.N.,  on 
November  28th,  1915,  against  great  odds  well 
illustrates  the  point. 

Ferrand,  with  First-Class  Air  Mechanic 
Oldfield  as  gunner,  was  on  patrol  duty  off 
the  Belgian  coast  when  he  suddenly  sighted 
a  German  seaplane,  for  which  he  made,  only 
to  discover  that  the  foe  was  not  alone,  but 
had  four  other  machines  keeping  it  company, 
while  far  below  on  the  wintry  waters  of  the 
North  Sea  there  was  an  escorting  destroyer. 

To  many  men  such  odds  would  have 
been  sufficient  to  justify  a  hasty  retreat,  for, 
after  all,  there  is  such  a  thing  as  discretion  ! 
But  to  Ferrand  the  idea  did  not  occur  :  he 
reasoned  that  if  there  were  so  many  sea- 
planes about,  with  a  destroyer  escort,  it  was 
not  at  all  unlikely  that  work  was  afoot  the 
execution  of  which  must  be  prevented  if 
possible.     So,    with    Oldfield   ready   with   his 

148 


Tales  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

gun,  the  Lieutenant  drove  his  machine  at  full 
speed  toward  the  nearest  Hun.  As  the  two 
machines  came  within  firing  distance  the 
British  gunner  let  rip  a  whole  drum,  and  then, 
as  the  German  replied,  Ferrand  dived,  then 
circled  and  sped  upward  again  to  get  position, 
and  Oldfield  rammed  in  a  second  drum,  which 
he  fired  as  rapidly  as  his  gun  would  work 
literally  riddling  the  German  seaplane.  The 
enemy  machine  gave  a  convulsive  shudder 
as  the  wind  caught  the  planes,  now  useless, 
for  the  engine  was  ruined  and  the  pilot  had 
no  control  over  it ;  then,  spinning  over  and  over 
as  it  went,  it  dropped  toward  the  water,  into 
which  it  plunged,  sinking  immediately. 

Meanwhile,  the  other  four  seaplanes  and 
the  destroyer  were  at  work  with  their  guns, 
although  apparently  the  seaplanes  were  not 
particularly  anxious  to  get  to  close  quarters. 
What  was  happening  was  that  the  enemy 
were  trying  to  lure  Ferrand  nearer  to  the 
coast,  and  in  this  they  succeeded,  for,  being 
intent  upon  tackling  the  more  formidable 
foe,  the  British  pilot  took  little  heed  of  the 
seaplanes    and    endeavoured    to    get    at    the 

149 


Thrilling  Deeds 

destroyer,  which,  as  soon  as  its  commander 
judged  the  time  had  come,  opened  with  every 
gun  that  could  be  trained  upon  the  Briton. 
Ferrand  handled  his  machine  with  great  skill, 
and,  circling  round,  came  well  over  the  destroyer, 
upon  which  he  dropped  some  bombs.  There 
seemed  every  prospect  of  a  really  good  fight 
with  fair  results,  when  from  the  shore  there 
came  a  resounding  clap  as  of  thunder,  followed 
by  another  and  yet  another. 

The  Germans'  ruse  had  succeeded  in  drawing 
the  British  machine  within  range  of  the  shore 
batteries,  and  their  shells  came  screaming 
past  the  seaplane  ;  and  now  that  the  odds  were 
greater  in  their  favour,  the  German  seaplanes 
also  swarmed  to  the  attack. 

The  British  machine-gun  was  worked  heroic- 
ally, bomb  after  bomb  was  launched  at 
the  destroyer,  and  the  gallant  pilot  and  his 
mechanic  kept  up  the  worthy  fight  until  it  was 
evident  that  the  odds  were  such  that  further 
success  was  impossible.  Then,  and  then  only, 
did  Lieutenant  Ferrand  turn  his  seaplane  up 
into  the  mist  above,  away  from  the  enemy's 
guns.     On   the   whole,   he  had   reason   to   be 

150 


Tales  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

pleased  with  what  he  had  accompHshed, 
although  not  a  little  disappointed  that  the 
heavy  shell  fire  had  prevented  him  from  coming 
to  a  conclusion  with  the  destroyer.  He  had 
also  reason  to  be  pleased  with  the  approval  of 
the  authorities,  who  awarded  him  a  D.S.O. 

Both  aeroplanes  and  airships  have  been 
found  of  great  value  as  aids  in  the  work  per- 
formed by  the  Navy  in  connexion  with  the 
German  submarine  menace.  A  submerged 
submarine  is  invisible  to  the  look-out  of  a  ship, 
but  the  airman  overhead  can  distinguish  the 
steel  fish  at  a  depth  of  about  thirty  feet — 
sometimes  more,  sometimes  less,  according  to 
the  state  of  the  weather — and  many  of  the 
U-boats  which  sallied  out  from  bases  along  the 
Belgian  coast  owed  their  capture  or  destruc- 
tion to  the  '  spotting '  work  of  the  aviators  of 
Britain  and  France.  Naturally,  the  Germans 
became  aware,  after  a  time,  that  their 
murder-craft  could  be  distinguished,  and  they 
made  various  experiments  in  colouring  :  with 
what  success  or  non-success  we  must  leave 
untold. 

151 


Thrilling  Deeds 

The  manner  in  which  a  Frenchman  and  a 
Briton,  flying  together  in  a  French  biplane, 
settled  accounts  with  a  U-boat  which  had,  no 
doubt,  been  preying  upon  shipping  in  the 
North  Sea,  is  typical  of  many  other  encounters. 
It  was  on  a  Sunday  in  1915,  at  about  half- 
past  eleven,  that  Fhght-Sub-Lieutenant  Viney, 
R.N.A.S.,  and  Lieutenant  de  Sin^ay  of  the 
French  Flying  Service,  left  their  aerodrome 
and  set  out  on  a  submarine  hunt  off  Nieuport. 
They  were  well  supplied  with  suitable  bombs, 
and,  by  the  time  they  were  five  miles  west 
of  Nieuport,  were  flying  at  a  height  of  some 
3000  feet.  Looking  down,  they  saw  what 
seemed  too  good  to  be  true.  Two  submarines 
were  lying  side  by  side  on  the  surface.  The 
airmen  anticipated  that  immediately  the  drone 
of  their  engine  was  heard  by  the  German 
crews  the  submarines  would  submerge.  To 
their  astonishment,  however,  this  did  not 
happen,  and  on  closer  scrutiny  the  aviators 
saw  gleaming  through  the  water  the  bright 
yellow  of  a  sandbank,  and  they  perceived  that 
there  was  not  sufficient  depth  for  the  submarines 
to  dive.     It  was  impossible  to  hope  for  a  more 

152 


Tales  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

favourable  situation,  and,  prompt  to  seize  their 
opportunity,  the  airmen  began  a  quick  spiral 
descent. 

As  they  dropped  signs  were  not  wanting 
that  they  had  been  noticed :  men  slipped 
inside  the  hatches,  which  were  shut  down 
quickly,  and  although  they  could  not  dive 
the  submarines  began  to  try  to  get  away 
before  the  biplane  could  draw  close  enough 
to  drop  bombs  with  effect.  Viney  and  Sin9ay 
held  their  missiles,  preferring  not  to  risk 
missing,  as  they  might  have  done  had  they 
released  from  too  great  a  height.  This  caution 
allowed  one  submarine  to  escape,  for  it  got 
up  speed  and  zigzagged  on  the  surface  in  such 
a  way  that,  although  the  biplane  was  right 
over  it  on  several  occasions,  there  was  little 
chance  of  hitting  it. 

The  other,  however,  seemed  to  be  un- 
manageable. Perhaps  her  commander  was 
flustered  at  the  thought  of  that  swooping 
bird  of  prey  hovering  so  close  above  him. 
True,  the  submarine  moved,  but  though  her 
commander  tried  every  trick  that  he  knew 
he  could  not   get   her  outside   of  the  circles 

153 


Thrilling  Deeds 

which  the  descending  aeroplane  was  making. 
Nearer  and  nearer  the  biplane  dropped,  and 
while  one  lieutenant  piloted,  the  other  kept 
his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  squirming  submarine, 
waiting  for  the  moment  when  he  might  begin 
the  attack.  This  moment  came  when  the  pilot 
brought  the  machine  to  within  200  yards  of 
the  surface  directly  over  the  U-boat.  There 
was  a  sharp  click  as  the  releasing  gear  let 
slip  one  of  the  destructive  balls  ;  almost  imme- 
diately there  followed  a  sharp  crash,  and  the 
aviators  saw  that  the  first  bomb  had  fallen 
true,  hitting  the  submarine's  bridge  and  crump- 
ling it  up. 

All  the  time  the  biplane  was  on  the  move, 
of  course,  and  as  the  bomb  hit  the  mark  the 
machine  continued  in  its  circuit.  Again  it 
came  lound  over  the  doomed  craft  and  a  second 
bomb  was  released.  There  was  a  second 
terrific  explosion,  the  aviators  saw  a  great 
gaping  hole  torn  in  the  steel  skin  and  the 
green  water  rush  in.  A  moment  later  nothing 
was  to  be  seen  upon  the  surface  but  a  widely 
spreading  circle  of  oil,  which  indicated  where 
the  U-boat  had  sunk. 

154 


A  Seaplane  '  Spotting  '  a  Submarine 


IS4 


Tales  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

It  was  all  very  quickly  done,  necessarily  so, 
for  not  far  off  were  enemy  aeroplanes,  whose 
observers  might  see  the  circling  biplane  and 
realize  what  was  in  progress  out  at  sea.  How- 
ever, there  was  no  interference  from  enemy 
aviators,  and  remaining  near  the  spot  just  long 
enough  to  make  sure  that  their  prey  had  been 
wounded  to  the  death,  Viney  and  Singay 
reascended  at  full  speed  to  the  dizzy  altitudes 
whence  they  had  swooped,  and  sailed  home- 
ward in  high  spirits,  no  doubt,  at  their 
success. 

Following  the  British  official  announcement 
of  the  thrilling  episode,  came  a  wireless  from 
Berlin  to  the  effect  that  "Competent  German 
authorities  repeat  that  no  German  submarine 
has  been  destroyed  by  a  British  aeroplane. 
Papers  point  out  that  if  the  English  report 
is  correct,  either  a  British  or  a  French 
submarine  has  been  destroyed."  No  doubt 
this  was  reported  immediately  to  the  horse- 
marines  ! 

On  May  21st,  1916,  a  number  of  German 
raiding  machines  suddenly  swooped  out  of  the 

155 


Thrilling  Deeds 

sky  and  rained  their  exploding  missiles  over 
Dunkirk.  News  quickly  reached  a  certain 
aerodrome,  and  several  British  machines  of 
the  Coast  Patrol  darted  up  with  the  intention 
of  cutting  off  the  raiders  as  they  passed  Nieu- 
port  on  their  return. 

FHght-Sub-Lieutenant  '  Anonymous  '  of  the 
R.N.A.S.,  mounted  on  a  Nieuport  scout, 
saw  them  as  black  specks  in  the  distance,  and 
went  out  to  meet  them,  rising  till  he  was  in  a 
position  to  attack  and  opening  fire  on*  them 
at  a  range  of  400  yards.  He  sprayed  the 
passing  machines  and  would  have  continued 
the  fight  but  for  the  fact  that  at  that  moment 
he  heard  the  roar  of  another  engine  above,  and, 
looking  up,  saw  a  black-crossed  'plane  at  about 
300  yards  distance  and  with  the  advantage  of 
position. 

Lieutenant  '  Anon37mous '  at  once  set  his 
elevators  to  '  rise  '  and  went  after  the  new 
enemy,  chasing  him  out  to  sea  until  he  was 
within  effective  range,  when  he  emptied  a  drum 
into  him.  Reloading  as  quickly  as  possible 
and  still  climbing,  the  intrepid  airman  reached 
a  height  of  10,000  feet,  his  eyes  still  upon  the 

156 


Tales  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

fleeing  foe,  when  he  was  suddenly  attacked 
by  a  large  two-seater  German  machine  which 
opened  fire  at  a  long  range. 

One  more  foe  did  not  matter  much  to 
Lieutenant '  Anonymous/  who  promptly  replied 
with  his  Lewis  gun.  He  was  able  to  see  that 
his  aim  had  been  remarkably  good,  even  at 
the  long  range  at  which  the  duel  was  being 
fought. 

Suddenly  smoke  began  to  issue  from  the 
German  machine,  a  smother  of  black  cloud 
which  almost  hid  it  from  the  eyes  of  the  victor, 
who,  not  without  pleasure,  saw  the  burning 
'plane  take  a  nose-dive  to  the  sea. 

Lieutenant  '  Anonymous,'  however,  had  little 
time  to  enjoy  the  results  of  his  triumph  and 
attack,  for  yet  another  enemy  now  appeared. 
He  proceeded  to  expend  the  remainder  of  his 
ammunition  upon  the  new  foe,  and  the  '  scrap ' 
only  terminated  when  he  had  no  more  cartridges 
to  fire.  The  airman  now  decided  that  it  was 
high  time  to  be  going,  and  he  arrived  safely  at 
the  aerodrome  to  learn,  that  a  fellow-pilot 
had  witnessed  his  fight  with  the  two-seater, 
a  burning  example  of  the  prowess  and  courage 

157 


Thrilling  Deeds 

of  British  airmen  in  general  and  of  Lieutenant 

*  Anonymous  '  in  particular. 

Another  anonymous  hero  of  the  Coast  Patrol 
had  a  thrilling  tale  to  tell,  when,   after  the 

*  scrap '  in  which  he  was  wounded,  he  lay  on  a 
hospital  bed,  in  blessed  contentment  at  having 
plentifully  '  strafed '  several  Huns  before  being 
put  out  of  action. 

The  pilot,  whose  name  doubtless  has  appeared 
above  a  three-line  paragraph  which  omitted 
everything  that  would  serve  to  make  the  story 
real,  was  out  on  a  bombing  expedition  over 
Marcoing  (south-west  of  Cambrai)  on  August 
2nd,  1916,  and  after  having  deposited  with 
good  effect  the  steel-cased  explosives — the  anti- 
aircraft guns  meantime  making  thunderous 
music  all  about  him — he  banked,  turned,  and 
headed  for  home. 

But  he  was  not  to  be  allowed  to  get  away 
unmolested.  The  Germans,  finding  that  their 
batteries  were  not  making  good  practice,  sent 
up  aeroplanes.  The  first  that  the  unnamed 
pilot  knew  of  this,  however,  was  when  he 
turned   and   almost   crashed   into   an   L.V.G. 

158 


Tales  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

scout — one  of  the  latest  of  its  type — which 
was  pelting  toward  him.  It  was  a  close  shave, 
the  touch  of  a  lever  deciding  the  fate  of  both 
aviators,  but  the  Britisher  was  equal  to  the 
occasion  and  swept  upward,  so  missing  the 
Hun  machine,  which  went  roaring  on  beneath 
him.  As  he  passed,  the  British  bomber,  his 
gun  already  unshipped,  emptied  a  drum  into 
his  enemy  and  quickly  slipped  in  another 
drum,  intending  to  follow  up  his  attack.  While 
thus  attending  to  his  gun,  he  saw  another 
British  pilot  bear  down  upon  the  German, 
which  probably  hurt  his  feelings,  because  the 
warriors  of  the  air  have  a  particular  liking  for 
finishing  off  their  foes  without  assistance. 

However,  the  British  officer  need  not  have 
felt  annoyed  at  the  thought  of  missing  a  *  scrap,' 
for,  a  moment  later,  a  German  Roland  thun- 
dered into  action  and  let  fly  a  stream  of 
missiles  at  him,  to  receive  a  full  drum  in  return 
as  the  British  machine  drove  in.  That  pilot 
experienced  all  the  excitement  he  needed — 
and  maybe,  although  one  can  never  tell  with 
these  kings  of  the  air  !  a  little  more  than 
that,    for   while   engaged   with    Hun   Roland, 

159 


Thrilling  Deeds 

a  violent  storm  seemed  to  crash  down  upon 
him.  Throwing  a  quick  glance  behind  him, 
the  pilot  saw  no  fewer  than  three  other 
Rolands  hanging  on  to  his  tail  and  rattling 
out  hundreds  of  machine-gun  bullets.  No 
matter  how  the  pilot  tried  to  shake  them 
off,  they  remained  poised,  as  it  were,  directly 
over  the  tail  of  his  machine  ;  and  the  storm 
of  bullets  was  unpleasantly  steady — far  too 
steady,  for  one  riddled  its  way  into  the  poor 
fellow's  leg  and  he  had  much  ado  to  refrain 
from  yehing  with  the  pain  of  it.  Knowing 
that  more  than  ever  his  life  depended  on 
keeping  cool,  he  finished  slipping  in  another 
drum,  of  which  he  gave  the  Rolands  the 
benefit,  much  to  their  discomfiture,  for  the 
Lewis  gun  swinging  from  side  to  side  sprayed 
them  with  good  British  bullets  and  convinced 
their  pilots  that  safety  lay  in  putting  as  great 
a  distance  as  possible  between  themselves  and 
their  snappy  foe. 

If  they  had  only  known  ! 

Scarcely  had  the  Germans  winged  out  of 
range  than  the  engine  of  the  stricken  pilot 
began  to  misfire  and  thus  bang  out  its  protest 

i6o 


Tales  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

at  being  expected  to  work  without  a  sufficient 
supply  of  petrol.  The  airman,  knowing  the 
signs,  gave  a  hasty  glance  at  his  tank,  and  saw 
a  neat  little  hole,  like  a  black  spot,  through 
which  the  petrol  was  squirting. 

A  moment  or  so  later  the  engine  struck, 
and  the  pilot,  although  he  knew  that  to  land 
now  would  be  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  had  no  other  course  open  to  him  but 
to  make  for  earth.  Sliding  down  gracefully, 
but  in  a  frightful  temper  at  the  fate  that  had 
played  him  so  scurvy  a  trick,  he  looked  about 
for  a  likely  landing-place. 

The  petrol  from  the  tank  was  flowing  over 
his  left  leg,  and  as  it  soaked  through,  the  pilot 
had  a  brilliant  idea — he  shoved  his  knee  against 
the  hole  and  so  stopped  the  flow  ;  then,  think- 
ing that  if  he  got  more  pressure  he  might 
even  yet  be  able  to  get  the  engine  to  start 
again,  he  pumped  for  all  he  was  worth,  glancing 
anxiously  at  any  movement  of  the  needle  of 
the  pressure  gauge.  Meanwhile  the  aeroplane 
had  been  heading  for  the  ground,  which  was 
now  only  about  200  feet  below,  with  many 
Germans  firing  up  in  the  hope  of  hastening  its 

L  161 


Thrilling  Deeds 

descent.  Suddenly,  to  the  pilot's  unfeigned 
joy,  he  heard  his  engine  grunt  and  then  open 
out  into  a  protesting  roar.  It  took  but  a 
brief  while  to  flatten  out  and  set  the  head  of 
the  machine  for  home — about  fifteen  miles 
distance,  by  the  way. 

It  was  a  thrilling  affair.  Pumping  hard, 
and  keeping  his  knee  over  the  hole  to  prevent 
the  petrol  from  leaking,  the  pilot  kept  up 
the  necessary  pressure  in  the  tank.  It  was 
no  easy  matter  to  do  the  two  things  and  at 
the  same  time  guide  the  machine.  It  was 
impossible  to  get  the  aeroplane  to  rise,  and 
the  intrepid  pilot  had  to  content  himself  with 
flying  at  the  altitude  to  which  the  engine 
would  lift  him,  about  fifty  feet. 

Several  times  the  engine  seemed  about  to 
give  in  again,  but  pumping  harder  than  ever, 
the  pilot  succeeded  in  keeping  on  the  go.  On 
one  of  these  occasions  he  gave  up  hope  and 
had  flattened  out  to  land,  when  suddenly  the 
engine  resumed  working  when  only  a  few 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  he  was  able  to  shove 
his  machine  up  a  little  higher. 

By  this  time  the  pilot  was  feeling  sick  and 

162 


Talcs  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

faint  from  loss  of  blood  and  exhausted  through 
the  severe  exertion  of  pumping.  As  he  crossed 
the  German  lines  machine-guns  below  opened 
out  upon  him  and,  seeing  the  low  altitude 
at  which  he  was  flying,  it  was  a  miracle  that 
he  was  not  hit. 

But,  in  due  course,  he  succeeded  in  getting 
away,  only  to  come  to  a  place  which  he  did 
not  know.  He  was  lost,  and  being  so  near 
the  ground  could  not  pick  out  landmarks 
by  which  to  steer. 

At  length,  however,  he  saw  a  French  bi- 
plane flying  low.  Following  it,  he  saw  where 
it  landed  and  made  for  the  same  spot,  but 
went  to  earth  with  a  crash  which  damaged  his 
machine  badly  but  fortunately  did  not  injure 
him.  The  landing  was  made  just  in  time ; 
the  pilot  was  almost  at  the  point  of  collapse 
and  a  few  more  moments  might  have  resulted 
in  disaster. 

Before  the  war,  spectators  at  Flying  Exhibi- 
tions held  their  breath  as  they  saw  some 
intrepid  airman  deliberately  make  his  machine 
loop  the  loop.     It  seemed  the  acme  of  fool- 

1O3 


Thrilli7ig  Deeds 

hardiness,  a  courting  of  death,  but  such 
experiments — for  they  were  Httle  more — added 
to  our  knowledge  of  the  factors  which  make 
for  air-worthiness,  and  in  the  Great  War  many 
an  aviator  has  no  doubt  owed  his  Hfe  to  the  fact 
that  those  who  looped  the  loop  lived  to  tell 
of  certain  things  which  ought  to  be  done  to 
make  certain  machines  more  stable.  Tucked 
in  among  the  annals  of  our  Flying  Corps  are 
the  brief  details  of  a  story  which,  when  the 
whole  of  it  can  be  told,  will  be  found  to  excel, 
in  no  mere  dramatic  sense,  most  things  that 
have  happened  in  the  air. 

The  British  pilot — name  unknown,  un- 
fortunately— mounted  in  a  single-seater  scout, 
was  on  May  14th,  19 15,  chasing  a  German 
machine,  the  pilot  of  which  apparently  did  not 
like  the  idea  of  joining  issue  with  the  foe  who 
persisted  in  hanging  on  his  tail.  The  German 
must  have  been  brought  to  bay  but  for  a 
queer  accident.  The  British  aviator,  having 
splashed  out  a  drum  of  cartridges,  was  in  the 
act  of  reloading  his  gun  when  by  some  mis- 
fortune his  machine  temporarily  got  out  of 
control.     It   was    only   a    momentary  lapse, 

164 


Talcs  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

but  in  the  air  even  a  second  counts,  and  the 
aeroplane,  without  any  controlHng  hand  on 
it,  suddenly  made  a  dive  and  turned  com- 
pletely over,  remaining  in  that  position  as  it 
tumbled  earthward. 

A  tremendous  event  that,  for  the  earth 
was  8000  feet  below  ;  and  it  is  not  difficult 
to  imagine  what  thoughts  must  have  flashed 
through  the  officer's  mind. 

That  he  was  not  hurled  out  of  the  machine 
to  fall,  a  mangled  mass,  on  the  ground,  is 
little  less  than  a  miracle,  particularly  as  the 
safety-belt,  with  which  every  airman  straps 
himself  into  his  machine,  happened  to  be  loose 
and  had  slipped  down  over  his  legs.  As  the 
aeroplane  turned  its  dramatic  somersault,  the 
airman  but  for  his  remarkable  presence  of 
mind  would  have  gone  flying  into  space. 

As  the  machine  turned  over  the  airman 
clutched  the  rear  centre-section  struts  and 
gripped  for  dear  life.  The  safety-belt  held 
his  legs  tight  as  in  shackles,  and  while  the 
machine  went  on  its  terrible  journey  through 
space,  the  unfortunate  pilot,  hanging  head 
downward,  clung  to  the  struts  and  tried  to 

165 


Thrilling  Deeds 

disentangle  his  legs.  Round  and  round  like 
a  teetotum  the  aeroplane  spun,  and  the 
motion  of  it  sickened  the  aviator,  whose 
blood  ran  into  his  head  until  he  thought  it 
would  burst.  The  strain  on  his  arms  was 
tremendous  and  his  struggles  made  the 
machine  shiver  from  wing  to  wing.  He  ex- 
pected any  moment  to  see  the  wings  fold  up, 
and  in  that  case  the  end  would  come  only  too 
soon.  The  suspense  was  awful ;  no  less  so 
because  it  did  not  last  many  seconds.  The 
aviator's  life  depended  upon  his  getting  his 
legs  free  of  the  leather  shackles,  since  the 
only  hope  of  righting  the  machine — amazing 
thing  that  in  such  circumstances  any  man 
dared  even  hope  to  perform  such  a  miracle  ! — 
lay  in  reaching  the  control  levers  with  his 
feet.  With  eyes  staring,  and  above  him  only 
the  blurred  mass  of  his  overturned  mount, 
with  his  heart  almost  stopping,  and  yet,  as 
well  as  man  can  be  in  such  a  position,  clear- 
headed and  of  set  purpose,  the  airman  exerted 
all  his  efforts,  used  all  his  cunning,  and  at  last, 
with  a  gasp  of  relief,  felt  first  one  leg  and  then 
the  other  slip  out  of  the  strap. 

i66 


The  R.N.A.S.  at  Work 
A  seaplane  duel  off  the  Belgian  coast 


l66 


Talcs  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

He  did  not  know  how  near  the  ground  he 
might  be  ;  all  he  knew  was  that  he  must  have 
fallen  a  tremendous  distance,  and  that  his 
chance  of  life  lay  in  immediate  action.  His 
legs  sought  and  found  the  control  lever  up 
there  in  the  fuselage,  the  control  wires  worked, 
ailerons  moved,  the  elevators  of  the  machine 
answered  to  the  call,  and,  miracle  of  miracles  ! 
the  aeroplane  began  to  bend  over,  as  it  were, 
stood  almost  on  its  nose,  then  tilted,  and  at 
last  rose  up  and  fell  back  into  position. 

And  the  airman  found  himself  in  his  seat, 
into  which,  as  the  machine  righted  itself,  he 
had  automatically  dropped,  though  he  still 
clutched  the  thin  spar  of  salvation. 

When  in  due  time  he  returned  to  earth 
the  much-tried  pilot  had  survived  an  experi- 
ence the  like  of  which  few  men  have  passed 
through  and  come  back  to  tell  the  tale. 

One  of  the  most  dramatic  episodes  of  the 
Coast  Patrol  occurred  on  July  15th,  1916. 
One  of  our  Naval  flying  men,  who  had  left 
Dunkirk,  was  ten  miles  off  the  coast  and 
some  12,000  feet  high  when,  as  he  was  ap- 

167 


Thrilling  Deeds 

preaching  Ostend,  he  encountered  a  German 
seaplane,  which  was  flying  about  500  feet 
below  him. 

The  recognition  was  simultaneous,  and  there 
began  a  matching  of  wits  for  position.  The 
German  seaplane,  a  single-engined  tractor, 
banked  and  turned  suddenly  with  intent  to 
get  into  position  behind  and  below  the  Naval 
machine.  A  second  later  both  machines  were 
executing  a  steep  glide,  and  but  for  the  prompti- 
tude of  the  Briton  the  German  would  have 
succeeded  in  obtaining  the  tactical  advantage. 
There  was  but  one  way  to  counter  the  German's 
move,  and  the  Briton,  with  swift  decision, 
determined  to  loop  the  loop  over  his  opponent. 
Down  went  his  ailerons  at  the  bidding  of  the 
control  wires,  and  the  aeroplane,  to  the  amaze- 
ment, no  doubt,  of  the  German  (who  probably 
imagined  that  his  enemy  had  lost  control), 
dipped,  then  rose  again,  and  swept  up  and 
round,  until  it  turned  completely  over.  When 
the  British  machine  righted  itself,  the  sea- 
plane had  passed  underneath  it,  and  from 
his  favourable  position  behind  the  British 
pilot  opened  fire  at  a  range  of  100  yards. 

168 


Tales  of  the  Coast  Patrol 

It  was  quickly  evident  that  some  of  the 
bullets  had  got  home,  for  the  German  pilot, 
apparently  wounded,  lost  control,  and  his 
seaplane  tipped  over  into  a  vertical  nose- 
dive. The  petrol  tank  must  have  been  holed, 
for  as  the  seaplane  fell  it  caught  fire,  and  the 
British  pilot's  last  vision  of  it  was  of  a  flaming 
torch  heading  for  the  depths  of  the  North 
Sea. 


1G9 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  Batch  of  V£.s 

LIKE  the  other  branches  of  the  fighting 
forces,  the  Royal  Flying  Corps  and 
the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service  have 
won  their  quota  of  Victoria  Crosses  in  the 
war,  and  in  other  chapters  will  be  found  the 
stories  of  the  marvellous  feats  by  which  some 
of  them  were  won.  It  goes  without  saying 
that  the  V.C.  is  not  won  easily,  as  the  follow- 
ing accounts  of  almost  superhuman  bravery 
will  show. 

Major  Lance  G.  Hawker  (R.E.  and  R.F.C.), 
who  won  his  Victoria  Cross  on  July  25th, 
1915,  had  about  three  months  previously 
been  awarded  the  D.S.O.  for  a  dash  over  the 
German  hues  to  Gontrode,  where  he  attacked 
an  airship  shed.  The  '  Archies '  were  very 
active  that  particular  day,  and  a  ring  of 
bursting  shells  seemed  to  be  made  around  the 
devoted  airman  as  he  droned  within  sight 
of  the  Germans.     He  had  been  unable  to  take 

170 


A  Batch  of  V.C.s 

them  by  surprise,  for  over  the  position  was 
a  captive  balloon,  the  occupants  of  which 
had  heard  and  seen  the  on-coming  aeroplane 
long  before  the  men  at  the  guns  had  done  so, 
and  had  telephoned  the  news  to  those  below. 
But  Lieutenant  Hawker  (he  was  Lieutenant  in 
those  days)  had  not  gone  out  on  his  expedition 
without  knowing  that  he  had  a  difficult  task 
before  him,  and  the  balloon  which  had  enabled 
the  Germans  to  prepare  a  warm  welcome 
for  him  was  destined  to  assist  him  in  his  work, 
for  as  he  sailed  into  view  of  it  the  intrepid 
airman  by  a  stroke  of  genius  decided  to  use 
the  '  sausage  '  as  a  shield. 

He  was  flying  at  a  great  height  as  he  ap- 
proached the  shed,  but  knowing  that  in  order 
to  drop  his  bombs  effectively  he  must  get 
closer  to  his  objective,  the  airman  presently 
began  to  descend  at  a  speed  which  completely 
baffled  the  gunners.  As  he  drew  nearer  he 
very  skilfully  manoeuvred  so  that  he  had  the 
balloon  between  his  machine  and  the  artillery. 
This,  of  course,  added  to  the  difficulties  of 
the  German  gunners,  who,  naturally,  had  no 
wish  to  send  a  screaming  shell  into  the  giant 

171 


Thrilling  Deeds 

gas-bag,  from  which  was  suspended  a  basket 
containing  some  of  their  own  comrades.  The 
Lieutenant  found  that  dodging  the  shells  was  no 
easy  task,  even  when  he  was  at  a  great  height, 
and  when  in  due  course  he  came  within  200  feet 
of  the  ground,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  it 
was  a  case  of  '  touch  and  go.'  Indeed,  it  was 
remarkable  that  his  machine  was  not  smashed 
to  pieces.  Only  the  utmost  ingenuity  in  the 
utilization  of  that  captive  balloon  saved  the 
airman  from  destruction  and  enabled  him  to 
wing  into  such  a  position  that  he  could  loose 
his  bombs  with  such  a  degree  of  accuracy 
that  they  went  crashing  on  to  the  airship  shed, 
to  the  consternation  of  the  Germans  who 
had  felt  sure  of  their  prey.  The  Lieutenant 
was  within  so  short  a  distance  of  the  shed 
that  he  felt  the  effects  of  his  own  bombs  ; 
but,  cool-headed  and  calm,  he  kept  his 
machine  under  complete  control  and,  while 
the  '  Archies '  boomed  out  at  him,  he  set  his 
aeroplane  climbing  back  into  the  giddy  heights 
and  so  away  toward  home.  In  such  fashion 
did  he  win  the  D.S.O. 
And  now  to  relate  the  manner  in  which  he 

172 


A  Batch  of  V.C.s 

earned  the  little  bronze  Maltese  cross — "  For 
Valour." 

The  official  announcement  of  the  award 
began  with,  "  For  most  conspicuous  bravery 
and  very  great  ability,"  and,  as  the  powers 
that  be  do  not  indulge  in  superlatives  without 
ample  reason,  it  is  evident  that  the  exploit 
of  Major  Hawker,  although  officially  described 
in  a  ten-line  notice,  was  something  fairly 
remarkable,  to  say  the  least.  What  really 
happened,  so  far  as  we  are  permitted  to  know, 
was  that  on  July  25th,  Major  Hawker  was 
flying  on  reconnaissance  duty  "  somewhere 
in  France,"  when  suddenly  he  was  attacked 
simultaneously  by  three  enemy  aeroplanes. 
The  odds  were  greater  than  would  at  first 
appear,  for  each  of  the  hostile  battle-planes 
carried  a  pilot  and  an  observer,  both  of  whom 
had  machine-guns,  while  the  gallant  Major 
was  flying  alone.  It  really  meant,  therefore, 
six  men  to  one  and  six  guns  to  one,  and  yet 
Major  Hawker  went  gaily  into  the  '  scrap.' 
At  a  height  of  10,000  feet  he  bore  down  upon 
one  of  the  machines,  leaving  the  others  to 
do  as  they  liked  while  he  attended  to  their 


Thrilling  Deeds 

companion.  Needless  to  say,  the  two  companion 
machines  tried  their  best  to  bring  him  down, 
but  Major  Hawker  concentrated  his  efforts 
upon  the  one  he  had  marked,  and,  after  a  short 
yet  severe  tussle,  he  peppered  the  German 
'plane  all  over,  so  badly  mauling  it  that  its 
pilot  lost  control  and  had  to  make  a  dive  for 
the  ground,  where,  unfortunately  for  him,  he 
landed  with  a  crash  inside  the  British  lines. 

While  his  crippled  opponent  was  slipping 
through  airy  spaces.  Major  Hawker  was  at 
grips  with  a  second  one,  and,  despite  a  tre- 
mendous ta-ta-ta-tatting  of  the  two  machine- 
guns  mounted  on  it,  and  the  whistling  of 
bullets  from  the  third  machine  which  he 
could  not  tackle  for  a  little  while,  he  manoeuvred 
his  aeroplane  with  such  marked  ability  that 
from  the  beginning  it  was  evident  the  Huns 
were  outmatched.  Before  very  long  the  Major 
saw  the  second  hostile  machine  bank,  turn, 
and  then  swoop  away,  heading  for  its  own 
lines.  It  had  been  so  severely  handled  that 
its  pilot  had  all  his  work  cut  out  to  keep 
control,  but  succeeded  in  doing  so  just  long 
enough  to  reach  safet}^ 

174 


A  Batch  of  V.C.s 

It  was  now  time  to  deal  with  number  three, 
which  Major  Hawker  treated  as  he  had  the 
other  two.  He  tackled  it  with  vigour,  poured 
in  a  rapid  fire  of  shots  which  tore  through 
the  wings  and  the  body,  generally  making 
things  so  warm  for  the  two  German  airmen 
that,  not  at  all  relishing  their  treatment  and 
by  no  means  eager  to  suffer  the  fate  of  their 
companions,  they  turned  and  scurried  away, 
hotly  pursued  by  Major  Hawker,  who,  however, 
was  unable  to  bring  them  again  to  action. 

Since  the  days  when  the  Major  performed 
that  feat  many  other  airmen  have  done 
similar  things,  and  very  many  have  been  faced 
by  even  greater  odds ;  yet  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  in  the  early  part  of  1915  aerial 
fighting  may  be  said  to  have  been  in  its  in- 
fancy :  machines  were  not  so  air-worthy,  the 
armament  of  them  was  not  so  effective,  and 
altogether  the  danger  and  the  difficulty  were 
relatively  greater.  With  the  improvements 
made  in  aircraft,  such  an  affair  as  a  fight 
between  one  machine  and  three  became  more 
or  less  a  minor  matter,  but  that  in  nowise 
diminishes  the  achievement  of  Major  Hawker, 

175 


Thrillmg  Deeds 

who  at  later  dates  distinguished  himself  yet 
more,  and  won  the  reputation  of  being  one  of 
Britain's  finest  aerial  fighters.  Without  much 
doubt,  the  reports  of  the  Air  Board  made 
reference  to  his  name  in  their  repeated  com- 
mendations of  *  Major  A.'  and  '  Major  B.* 
To  the  regret  of  very  many,  in  1916  his  name 
appeared  in  the  list  of  '  Missing.' 

About  a  week  after  Major  Hawker  had  won 
the  V.C,  one  of  his  fellow-fliers.  Captain  John 
Aidan  Liddell  (3rd  Argyll  and  Sutherland 
Highlanders  and  R.F.C.),  also  won  the  dis- 
tinction. On  the  last  day  of  July,  1915, 
Captain  Liddell  was  on  a  flying  reconnais- 
sance over  Ost end-Bruges-Ghent,  when  he 
was  wounded  in  the  thigh  by  high-explosive 
shrapnel  from  an  anti-aircraft  gun.  His  leg 
was  riddled  with  bullets,  being  wounded  in 
fifty  places !  The  observer,  who  saw  his  pilot 
sag  helplessly,  and  realized  that  he  was  sorely 
wounded,  had  little  time  for  thinking,  for  the 
aeroplane  immediately  began  to  drop  sheer 
down.  The  shock  had  rendered  Captain 
Liddell  unconscious,  and  he  had  been  jammed 

176 


A  Batch  of  V.Cs 

between  the  steering-wheel  and  the  side  of 
his  seat.  The  machine  was  free  to  go  its  own 
way — which  was  directly  earthward — and  the 
jerk  pitched  the  observer  between  the  struts 
and  the  machine-gun.  As  the  aeroplane 
dropped  the  rush  of  the  wind  was  tremendous, 
and  the  observer  was  never  so  thankful  in 
his  life  for  being  jammed  up  so  that  he  could 
not  move,  for  the  machine  turned  turtle  and 
then  came  right  way  up  again,  as  it  dropped 
in  a  spin  from  which  it  appeared  there  could 
be  no  recovery  ! 

The  unconscious  pilot,  it  seemed,  would 
never  come  back  to  the  world  of  feeling.  The 
observer  well  knew  what  happened  in  such 
circumstances  :  he  had  seen  machines  crash 
to  earth  when  the  pilot  had  lost  control. 
There  is  on  record  the  story  of  two  airmen 
who  found  themselves  in  a  similar  plight  to 
that  in  which  Captain  Liddell  and  his  comrade 
were  in,  and  the  observer,  unable  to  do  any- 
thing to  right  the  machine,  had  to  content 
himself  with  trying  to  rouse  his  pilot  by 
banging  as  loudly  as  he  could  upon  the  frame- 
work of  the  aeroplane  !  Whether  that  had 
M  177 


Thrilling  Deeds 

any  effect,  or  whether  it  was  the  uprush  of 
cold  air  which  brought  the  pilot  back  to 
consciousness,  is  not  known,  but  the  fact 
remains  that  after  the  uncontrolled  machine 
had  dropped  5000  feet,  and  when  it  was 
within  2000  feet  of  the  ground,  the  pilot  re- 
gained consciousness,  and  succeeded  in  getting 
his  mount  under  control  again. 

In  like  manner.  Captain  Liddell  came  round, 
to  find  himself  bleeding  profusely,  with  a  feeling 
that  if  he  moved  his  leg  would  drop  off ;  with 
pain  racking  his  body,  his  head  throbbing, 
and  his  machine  slipping  downward  at  a 
speed  amazing  even  to  so  skilled  an  airman. 
The  altimeter  showed  they  had  fallen  3000 
feet,  and  it  seemed  impossible  for  him  to  pull 
up,  because  in  the  moment  that  his  eyes 
opened  he  saw  that  the  control  wheel  was 
affected.  How  could  he  hope  to  get  his 
machine  in  hand  ?  He  could  see  no  way  to 
do  so,  and  yet — such  is  the  stuff  of  which 
heroes  are  made — he  attempted  the  seemingly 
impossible.  Only  Captain  Liddell  himself 
knows  how  he  managed  it,  but  the  fact  remains 
that,  growing  weaker  and  weaker  every  second, 

178 


A  Batch  of  V.C.s 

and  scarcely  able  to  bear  the  pain,  by  fumbling 
about  in  a  half-dazed  way  with  levers  which 
did  not  want  to  move,  he  succeeded  at  last  in 
getting  the  engine  to  answer.  The  elevators 
worked  and,  with  a  convulsive  shiver,  as  though 
resenting  the  insolence  of  man  daring  to  con- 
trol it,  the  aeroplane  began  to  slacken  its  pace, 
pushed  up  its  nose,  and  approached  something 
like  an  even  keel. 

Down  below,  German  gunners  who  had 
seen  the  headlong  drop  of  the  machine  and 
expected  to  see  it  crash  itself  to  pieces  on  the 
ground,  were  amazed  to  see  it  begin  to  fly 
normally  again.  The  whole  thing  seemed 
incredible.  Yet,  that  did  not  prevent  them, 
naturally,  from  doing  their  very  best  to  bring 
it  down  after  all ;  for,  as  Captain  Liddell 
turned  toward  the  Belgian  lines,  where,  many 
miles  away,  was  an  aerodrome,  the  anti-aircraft 
guns  opened  fire,  and  the  cotton-wool  whorls 
appeared  on  every  side.  The  gallant  Captain 
— who  knew  that  he  could  not  last  long,  be- 
cause of  the  stream  of  blood  which  was  dyeing 
his  machine  red — fought  against  the  desire 
to    lapse   once   more   into  a  blissful   state   of 

179 


Thrilli7ig  Deeds 

unconsciousness,  fought,  not  merely  for  his  own 
sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  man  who  looked 
to  him  to  drive  the  machine  back  to  safety, 
and  for  the  sake  of  the  authorities  who  waited 
somewhere  behind  the  line  for  the  report  which 
had  been  gathered  during  the  first  part  of  the 
tragic  flight. 

Fortunately,  he  did  not  fight  in  vain.  "  Not- 
withstanding his  collapsed  state,"  ran  the 
official  announcement,  "  he  succeeded,  although 
continually  fired  at,  in  completing  his  course, 
and  brought  the  aeroplane  into  our  lines, 
half  an  hour  after  he  had  been  wounded.  .  .  . 

"  The  difficulties  experienced  by  this  officer 
in  saving  his  machine,  and  the  life  of  his 
observer,  cannot  readily  be  expressed,  but  as 
the  control  wheel  and  throttle  control  were 
smashed,  and  also  one  of  the  under-carriage 
struts,  it  would  seem  incredible  that  he  could 
have  accomplished  his  task." 

Praise  indeed  :   and  heroism  indeed  ! 

"  You  must  lift  me  out,"  Captain  Liddell 
said  to  those  who  rushed  to  his  assistance 
as  he  brought  the  machine  to  earth.  "  If 
I  move,  I  am  afraid  my  leg  will  drop  off." 

i8o 


A  Batch  of  V.C.S 

He  was  carried  to  hospital,  but,  although 
everything  possible  was  done  for  him,  he  did 
not  live  to  receive  the  Victoria  Cross,  which 
was  placed  on  his  bier. 

The  official  announcement  of  the  award  of 
the  Victoria  Cross  to  Second-Lieutenant  Gilbert 
S.  M.  Insall  (R.F.C.)  stated  that  it  was 
bestowed  "  For  most  conspicuous  bravery, 
skill,  and  determination,"  and  the  high  praise 
was  well  deserved. 

This  gallant  officer  was  on  patrol  duty  on 
November  7th,  1915,  and  his  watch  in  the 
air  was  after  a  while  rewarded  by  the  appear- 
ance of  a  German  aeroplane.  The  meeting 
between  the  aviators  took  place  near  Achiet, 
toward  which  town  the  British  airman  chased 
the  German,  who  apparently  disliked  the  look 
of  the  big  Vickers  fighting  machine  in  which 
Insall  was  mounted.  With  his  engine  putting 
forth  every  possible  ounce  of  power,  the  Teuton 
sped  through  the  air  ;  but  he  could  not  shake 
off  the  Vickers  'plane,  wliich  hung  relentlessly 
at  his  tail.  Finding  that  he  could  not  escape, 
the  German  aviator  changed  his  course  and, 

181 


Thrilling  Deeds 

although  Insall  did  not  know  it  until  it  was 
too  late,  lured  him  toward  a  hidden  battery. 

The  stern  chase  continued,  and  at  last  the 
two  aeroplanes  were  almost  over  the  battery. 
The  first  inkling  Insall  had  of  the  danger  was 
a  salvo  from  the  guns  below ;  but,  with 
remarkable  coolness,  he  dived  from  a  giddy 
height  until  he  was  almost  touching  the 
German  machine.  His  gunner,  First-Class  Air 
Mechanic  T.  H.  Donald,  was  on  the  qui  vive, 
waiting  eagerly  for  the  moment  when  he 
could  effectively  let  loose  a  stream  of  bullets 
at  the  fleeing  foe  ;  that  moment  came,  and 
Donald,  taking  cool  aim  as  his  machine  swooped 
down,  opened  fire.  A  whole  drum  of  cart- 
ridges was  scattered  upon  the  rival  machine, 
and  the  marksmanship  was  so  good  that  its 
engine  was  hit  and  stopped  dead. 

The  German  was  now  in  a  sorry  plight,  but 
he  knew  that  he  had  still  a  chance  of  escape 
if  he  could  but  volplane  to  earth  before  his 
antagonist  regained  position  and  attacked  him 
again.  Below  was  a  thick  bank  of  cloud, 
and  into  this,  and  through  it,  the  German 
dropped.     Caring  nothing  for  the  danger  that 

182 


A  Batch  of  V.Cs 

he  knew  must  lie  on  the  other  side  of  the 
cloud,  Insall  also  dived  into  the  mist-veil, 
and,  emerging  from  it,  saw  his  enemy  still 
going  earthward.  Like  a  hawk  pouncing  upon 
its  prey  the  British  machine  swooped  down, 
a  few  breathless  seconds  ensued,  and  then 
Donald  once  more  opened  fire,  spraying  the 
German  machine  with  a  nickel  hail  which 
literally  shattered  it,  sending  it  hurtling  into  a 
ploughed  field  a  few  miles  south-east  of  Arras. 
By  little  short  of  a  miracle  the  aviators 
escaped  death.  When  their  machine  landed, 
they  scrambled  out  and  very  pluckily  prepared 
to  engage  the  Vickers  'plane,  now  hovering 
close  above  them. 

Insall,  when  he  saw  that  the  Germans  were 
still  bent  on  fighting,  dropped  yet  lower, 
till  within  500  feet  above  the  spot  where  the 
wrecked  machine  lay.  From  this  position 
Donald  let  his  machine-gun  rip  out  its  tattoo 
of  death,  and  the  Germans  finding  the  place 
too  hot  for  them  wisely  took  to  their  heels. 
One  of  them  was  wounded,  but  his  comrade 
gallantly  kept  with  him  and  tried  to  help 
him  along  to  safety. 

183 


Thrilling  Deeds 

The  British  airmen,  having  defeated  their 
foes,  now  turned  their  attention  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  machine  itself.  Near  at  hand  were 
German  trenches,  the  occupants  of  which  were 
firing  rapidly  at  the  Vickers  machine,  which, 
however,  merely  completed  its  circle,  and,  as 
it  again  passed  over  the  German  machine, 
loosed  an  incendiary  bomb  from  its  rack. 
There  was  a  sharp  report,  a  burst  of  flame 
and  smoke,  and  as  he  swept  round  and  up 
Insall's  last  glance  showed  the  enemy  machine 
a  total  wreck. 

The  problem  now  before  the  victors  was 
how  to  get  home.  They  were  about  2000 
feet  above  the  ground,  and  in  order  to  obtain 
a  higher  speed  than  they  were  flying  at,  it 
was  necessary  to  dive  down.  This,  however, 
meant  that  they  would  come  within  easier 
range  of  German  riflemen  in  the  trenches 
over  which  they  must  pass  ;  but  the  plucky 
Britishers  took  the  risk,  and  improved  the 
occasion.  To  the  utter  astonishment  of  the 
Germans,  the  aeroplane  swooped  toward  them, 
the  roar  of  the  engine  sounding  like  thun- 
der.   They  could  not  understand  such  tactics, 

184 


A  Batch  of  V.C.s 

and  they  could  not  imagine  what  the  air- 
men intended.  They  were  soon  enhghtened, 
however,  for  as  the  British  machine  came 
over  the  trenches  its  machine-gun  opened  fire, 
and  Donald  raked  the  defence  ditches  with 
disastrous  effects  upon  their  occupants. 

Even  as  the  aeroplane  passed  Insall  pulled  up 
and  set  his  elevators  to  rise,  and  as  the  machine 
responded  it  was  followed  by  a  terrific  burst 
of  fire  from  the  Germans,  who  had  speedily 
recovered  from  their  surprise.  Bullets  whistled 
past  the  rising  aeroplane,  cut  holes  in  its  planes 
and  nacelle,  and — worst  luck  of  all — penetrated 
the  petrol  tank.  Insall,  looking  at  his  gauge, 
realized  that  the  oil  was  running  out.  To  an 
aeroplane,  oil  is  what  the  blood  is  to  the  body, 
and  the  Lieutenant  knew  that  he  must  extract 
from  his  engine  all  he  possibly  could  within 
the  next  few  minutes  if  he  were  to  get  his 
machine  to  safety.  He  resolved  not  to  try 
to  fly  to  his  station,  but  to  ahght  just  within 
the  British  lines.  Scanning  the  country  be- 
neath and  before  him,  he  saw  a  wood  not 
far  away,  which  he  judged  to  be  about  500 
yards  within  the  British  lines,  and  thereabout 

185 


Thrilling  Deeds 

he  decided  to  land.  From  behind  him,  as  he 
drove  onward,  German  anti-aircraft  guns  con- 
tinued to  fire,  and  bursting  shrapnel  created 
smoke-clouds  in  all  directions,  but  the  speed 
at  which  the  Vickers  machine  was  flying  and 
the  fact  that  it  was  now  gliding  earthward 
disconcerted  the  gunners,  so  that  nothing 
happened  to  prevent  Insall  from  guiding  his 
machine  gracefully  to  rest  beyond  the  friendly 
wood. 

The  moment  the  aeroplane  touched  earth 
Insall  and  his  mechanic  jumped  out  to  see 
what  they  could  do  with  the  petrol  tank. 
If  they  had  hoped  to  be  left  unmolested, 
they  were  disappointed ;  for  the  Germans, 
who  had  realized  the  purpose  of  the  airmen, 
promptly  opened  fire  in  the  direction  in  which 
the  aeroplane  had  dropped.  During  the  next 
few  hours  no  fewer  than  a  hundred  and  fifty 
shells  were  dropped,  fired  at  the  machine,  but 
not  one  of  them  caused  any  material  damage. 
In  the  face  of  the  bombardment,  however, 
Insall  and  his  companion  found  it  impossible 
to  effect  repairs  during  daylight,  and  so  they 
waited  in  the  wood  until  night  fell.     Then, 

i86 


A  Batch  o/V.C.s 

by  the  aid  of  screened  lights,  they  overhauled 
their  machine,  and  found  it  badly  knocked 
about  by  rifle  fire  but  still  in  a  repairable 
condition.  It  took  them  nearly  all  night  to 
effect  these  repairs,  but  at  last  they  were  done, 
and  at  the  break  of  day  Insall  and  Donald 
mounted  their  aerial  steed  again,  taxied  it  along 
the  ground,  and  then  drummed  their  way  up- 
ward and  homeward,  duly  reaching  their  station 
little  the  worse  for  their  perilous  adventure. 

In  another  place  we  have  told  the  story  of 
a  dive  to  earth  in  a  machine  that  was  a  mass 
of  flames,  and  here  in  this  collection  of  tales 
about  the  V.C.  we  must  include  that  of 
Sergeant  Thomas  Mottershead  of  the  R.F.C., 
who  passed  through  the  terrif3dng  experience 
of  dropping  to  earth  in  a  blazing  aeroplane. 

It  was  one  day  in  1917  that  Sergeant  Mot- 
tershead pushed  up  the  nose  of  his  machine 
and  drove  to  a  height  of  9000  feet,  to  enable 
Lieutenant  Gower,  his  companion,  to  make 
observations  of  certain  points  in  the  enemy 
lines.  Hostile  machines  came  out  to  meet 
the  target-marked  'plane,  and  a  very  severe 

187 


Thrilling  Deeds 

little  '  scrap '  took  place  nearly  two  miles 
above  the  ground.  The  Britishers  were  un- 
fortunate, for  a  machine-gun  in  one  of  the 
enemy  'planes  sprayed  the  aeroplane  with 
bullets  and  tore  a  hole  in  the  petrol  tank. 

Instantly,  the  fuel  began  to  flow  out  and 
down  toward  the  engine.  Lieutenant  Gower 
saw  the  first  flash  as  the  liquid  caught  light, 
and  he  immediately  endeavoured  to  beat  out 
the  fire.  It  is  no  easy  matter,  however,  to 
subdue  flaming  petrol,  and  Gower  realized 
that  the  position  was  very  serious. 

Sergeant  Mottershead  realized  this  also,  and 
knew  that  it  was  useless  to  think  of  continuing 
the  fight.  If  he  were  to  save  the  life  of  his 
observer,  whose  information  was  wanted  by 
those  in  command  below,  he  must  immedi- 
ately make  for  earth,  trusting  to  the  powers 
who  guard  airmen  that  Lieutenant  Gower 
might  be  able  to  triumph  over  the  fire. 
There  seemed  little  likelihood  of  that,  how- 
ever, seeing  that  the  descent  would  have  to 
be  made  at  top  speed,  which  would  cause  the 
air  to  fan  the  flames  until  they  enveloped  the 
whole  aeroplane. 

i88 


A  Batch  of  V.Cs 

This  was  just  what  happened  as  the  intrepid 
pilot  sent  his  aerial  mount  plunging  for  earth. 
The  flowing  petrol  ran  into  the  flames  al- 
ready kindled,  the  air,  as  the  machine  rushed 
through  it,  drove  the  flames  up  to  the  tank, 
and  before  many  minutes  had  passed  the  aero- 
plane was  a  blazing  torch,  with  a  stream  of 
fire  leaping  behind  it  and  a  trail  of  black 
smoke. 

A  fearful  sight  to  watch,  and  a  fearful 
experience  for  the  aviators  !  Throughout  the 
time  the  machine  was  falling.  Lieutenant 
Gower  gallantly  fought  the  flames,  which  he 
noticed  were  being  fanned  by  the  air  all  around 
the  legs  of  the  gallant  pilot ;  but  his  efforts 
were  unavailing. 

Grim-faced,  cool-headed,  Mottershead  sat  in 
his  seat,  with  the  flames  scorching  his  uni- 
form and  burning  his  legs  horribly — the  legs 
that  he  could  not  move  out  of  the  way  be- 
cause they  were  controlling  the  machine ;  and 
through  the  flames  he  was  looking  for  a  safe 
landing-place. 

He  was  suffering  intensely ;  the  pain  must 
have  been  sufficient  to  drive  an  ordinary  man 

189 


Thrillinp'  Deeds 


'^ 


mad,  and  the  whole  incident  was  terrific  in 
its  horror.  Yet  the  gallant  Sergeant  did  not 
lose  his  head  :  one  thought  only  was  present, 
and  that  was  that  he  must  save  Lieutenant 
Gower. 

The  machine  was  slithering  down  the  airy 
spaces  at  a  wonderful  speed,  thousands  of 
feet  were  dropped  in  an  incredibly  short  time, 
and  Sergeant  Mottershead  now  realized  that 
he  must  begin  to  flatten  out  for  the  landing, 
in  order  to  avoid  a  dive  into  the  ground. 
That  this  man  could  control  himself  to  think 
clearly  in  such  circumstances  is  astounding, 
and  speaks  volumes  for  his  courage. 

When  Mottershead  saw  what  he  judged  was 
a  likely  place  for  landing,  he  flattened  as  well 
as  he  could,  considering  the  speed  at  which 
the  machine  was  travelHng  and  the  fact  that 
some  of  its  control  wires  had  been  burnt  away 
like  so  many  cotton  strands.  It  was  a  moment 
filled  with  tense  anxiety  and  dread  possibilities. 
Sergeant  Mottershead,  despite  his  bravery,  was 
almost  at  the  breaking-point :  his  eyes  were 
bleared,  the  pain  in  his  legs  was  terrible.  Just 
behind  him  the  tank  was  blazing,  making  life 

190 


A  Batch  of  V.C.s 

unendurable.  It  seemed  easier  and  better  to 
die  than  to  live. 

Then  the  climax  that  he  had  dreaded 
happened.  During  that  wild,  mad  descent 
the  thought  had  ever  been  present  that,  as 
the  struts  had  been  burnt  away,  the  machine 
might  at  any  moment  collapse  ;  perhaps  the 
tail  might  drop  off,  and  then  .  .  .  the  result 
was  too  awful  to  contemplate.  Fortunate  it 
was  for  that  gallant  pilot  and  his  observer 
that  the  catastrophe  happened  when  the 
machine  was  within  only  a  short  distance 
of  the  ground ;  otherwise,  neither  would  have 
escaped  death  by  being  crashed  to  earth. 
Even  as  it  was,  when  the  aeroplane  suddenly 
collapsed  to  the  ground,  a  flaming  mass  still, 
Sergeant  Mottershead  was  pinned  down  by 
the  wreckage,  and  only  by  the  promptitude  of 
some  soldiers  who  had  watched  the  awesome 
spectacle  was  he  brought  out  alive  and  con- 
veyed to  hospital,  to  die,  alas !  before  the 
world  learned  of  his  brilliant  exploit. 

"  Though  suffering  extreme  torture  from 
burns  Sergeant  Mottershead  showed  the  most 
conspicuous  presence  of  mind  in   the  careful 

191 


Thrilling  Deeds 

selection  of  a  landing-place,  and  his  wonderful 
endurance  and  fortitude  undoubtedly  saved 
the  life  of  his  observer." 

Thus  testified  the  official  announcement 
chronicling  the  posthumous  award  of  the 
V.C.  to  this  gallant  pilot. 


192 


CHAPTER  XIII 

The  Man  who  Broiiglit  Down 
Immelmann 

THE  aerial  war  has  produced  some  fine 
figliters  amongst  the  various  belli- 
gerents, though  it  fell  to  the  lot  of 
the  German  aviators  to  be  given  personal 
credit  long  before  the  British  airmen  were 
allowed  to  be  known  as  gallant  and  successful 
fighters  in  the  air.  Day  after  day  the  Berlin 
communiques  reported  that  Lieutenant  So- 
and-So  had  brought  down  his  n\h.  enemy 
machine  ;  but  although  many  British  pilots 
had  quite  as  fine  totals  notched  to  their  credit, 
they  were  hidden  behind  the  anonymity  of 
Lieutenant  A,  or  Squadron-Commander  B. 
Amongst  the  German  air  heroes  was  Lieu- 
tenant Immelmann,  whose  prowess  the  Teutons 
were  for  ever  singing ;  they  were  never  weary 
of  proclaiming  to  the  world  each  victory  gained 
by  him.  There  came  a  day,  however,  when 
N  193 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Immelmann  fought  his  last  fight— fought  it 
as  became  the  brave  man  that  he  was.  Yet, 
amazing  to  relate,  the  man  who  vanquished 
this  vahant  fighter  figured  in  dispatches 
for  some  time  simply  as  "  Lieutenant  M'C." 
Naturally,  questions  were  asked  when  the  news 
of  what  was  one  of  the  greatest  air  fights  of 
the  war  filtered  through,  and  a  demand  was 
made  that  the  identity  of  the  hero  should 
be  disclosed.  Tardily,  the  information  was 
given,  and  the  world  which  was  thrilled  by  the 
story,  even  when  robbed  of  its  personal  features, 
re-read  it  with  deepened  interest  when  it 
was  revealed  that  the  conqueror  was  Second- 
Lieutenant  M'Cubbin,  R.F.C. 

Before  telling  the  story  of  Lieutenant 
Immelmann's  tragic  end,  however,  it  might 
be  as  well  to  recite  the  tale  of  a  typical  en- 
counter with  him.  It  is  based  upon  a  letter 
written  by  one  of  the  British  aviators  who 
took  part  in  it,  Lieutenant  Slade,  who  was 
taken  prisoner  at  the  end  of  the  combat. 

This  fine  young  officer  was  acting  as  observer 
to  Captain  Darley  of  the  R.F.C,  and  the  pair 
were  flying,  in  a  French-built   machine,  over 

194 


Man  wJio  broitglit  doivn  Immehnanji 

the  German  lines  when,  suddenly,  and  as   it 
were  from  nowhere,  a  Fokker  appeared. 

Immelmann,  the  champion  Fokker  pilot  of 
Germany,  was  mounted  in  that  sinister-look- 
ing monoplane,  and,  following  his  customary 
tactics,  he  came  up  from  behind  the  Britishers 
and  they  had  no  knowledge  of  his  presence 
until  he  was  pouring  in  a  stream  of  bullets, 
which  hterally  riddled  the  petrol  tank,  and 
made  it  about  as  useful  as  a  sieve  for  holding 
petrol.  Captain  Darley,  the  instant  he  realized 
what  was  taking  place,  endeavoured  to  get  out 
of  range  of  the  deadly  stream  by  tipping  his 
machine  on  to  its  nose,  in  the  hope  that  the 
bullets  would  go  slithering  past,  and  thus 
allow  him  to  manoeuvre  for  position  from 
which  to  fight  the  hovering  foe.  Immelmann, 
however,  was  master  of  his  machine,  and  had 
perfected  his  system  of  attack.  The  rat-tat- 
tat  of  his  machine-gun  went  on,  and  many  of 
the  bullets  found  their  mark.  Captain  Darley 
felt  a  stinging  pain  in  his  right  arm, 
and  knew  that  a  bullet  had  passed  through 
it  ;  the  thumb  of  his  left  hand  stopped  a 
shot  which  absolutely  smashed  it.     But  by  a 

195 


Thrilling  Deeds 

perfect  miracle  Lieutenant  Slade,  although 
his  clothes  were  riddled  with  bullets,  escaped 
injury.  When  he  saw  the  plight  of  his  pilot, 
he  pulled  out  his  penknife,  leaned  over, 
and  performed  a  surgical  operation  in  mid- 
air, amputating  Captain  Darley's  thumb,  the 
while  that  Immelmann  was  keeping  in  deadly 
line  with  the  descending  British  aeroplane  and 
giving  it  the  full  benefit  of  belt  after  belt, 
until  he  was  assured  that  there  was  no  chance 
of  the  Britishers  escaping.  Then,  like  the 
chivalrous  foe  that  he  was — and  there  was  not 
a  man  of  the  British  Flying  Services  but  had 
a  fine  appreciation  of  the  sporting  instincts  of 
Immelmann — he  desisted  from  firing,  con- 
tenting himself  with  flying  within  range  and 
watching  his  enemies  make  their  descent. 
Flight  was  out  of  the  question,  for  the  petrol 
was  leaking  badly  from  the  tank,  and  the 
great  danger  was  that  which  every  man  of  the 
air  most  dreads  ;  it  was  quite  on  the  cards 
that  the  escaping  fuel  might  set  fire  to  the 
machine,  and  the  occupants  be  cremated  as 
it  fell  a  blazing  mass.  Fortunately  for  the 
Captain  and  his  companion  this  terrible  thing 

196 


Man  zvJio  brought  down  Immehnann 

did  not  happen,  and  although  Captain  Darley 
had  been  wounded  again  in  the  left  hand,  so 
that  it  was  quite  useless,  he  was  able  with  his 
right  arm  to  keep  control  of  the  machine, 
guiding  it  toward  the  earth,  where  he  made  an 
admirable  landing. 

The  instant  the  machine  came  to  earth 
Lieutenant  Slade  leapt  out  with  the  idea  of 
setting  fire  to  the  aeroplane  before  German 
soldiers  could  rush  up  and  capture  it.  Immel- 
mann,  however,  had  landed  almost  simultane- 
ously and,  knowing  that  the  aviators  would 
endeavour  to  destroy  their  machine,  he  hurried 
over,  and  claimed  the  pair  as  prisoners  and 
their  machine  as  just  trophy.  There  was,  of 
course,  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  surrender 
in  the  circumstances,  and,  after  all,  the  un- 
pleasant task  was  rendered  less  galling  by 
the  courtesy  of  the  German,  who  did  all  he 
possibly  could  for  the  Britishers.  Lieutenant 
Slade,  writing  and  describing  the  experience, 
made  reference  to  his  enemy  in  these  terms  : 
"He  is  a  gentleman,  and  if  ever  we  capture 
him  I  hope  he  will  be  treated  as  such." 

It  was  not  to  be  Immelmann's  fortune  to  be 

197 


Thrilling  Deeds 

taken  prisoner  ;  he  was  destined  to  die  while 
engaged  in  the  work  of  which  he  had  become 
a  past  master. 

His  last  great  battle  took  place  in  July 
1 916,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  his 
antagonist,  Second-Lieutenant  M'Cubbin,  had 
never  been  in  an  aeroplane  before  the  February 
of  that  year. 

Lieutenant  M'Cubbin  went  up  in  an  F.E. 
machine  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  and 
was  accompanied  by  three  other  battle-planes, 
one  of  them  piloted  by  Lieutenant  Savage. 
The  duty  in  hand  was  what  the  official  report 
termed  "  an  offensive  patrol  " — ^that  is,  a  trip 
to  bomb  anything  within  the  enemy  lines 
worth  bombing,  and  at  the  same  time  deal 
with  any  hostile  aeroplanes  met  with. 

When  several  thousand  feet  up,  the  British 
airmen  sighted  a  squadron  of  no  fewer  than 
eleven  enemy  'planes,  including  L.V.G.s, 
Rolands,  and  Fokkers.  Long  odds,  those ! 
But  M'Cubbin  and  his  comrades  welcomed 
the  opportunity  for  a  good  fight,  and  sailed 
into  it  with  one  heart.  The  leading  Britisher 
made  a  dive  for  an  L.V.G.,  which  promptly 

198 


Man  zvho  bro7ight  dozu?i  Imviclmann 

turned  tail  and  headed  away  east.  Thus 
foiled,  the  British  airman  swooped  down 
at  a  Fokker,  there  was  a  brisk  interchange 
of  shots,  much  manoeuvring — and  down  to 
earth  went  the  Fokker.  Thereupon  one  of  the 
Rolands  attacked ;  another  short,  sharp  en- 
counter followed — and  the  Roland  went  to 
keep  its  companion  company  on  the  ground. 

Meanwhile,  the  second  British  machine  had 
joined  issue  with  a  Roland.  There  was  the 
usual  manoeuvring  for  position,  much  rat- 
tatting  of  machine-guns,  and  this  Roland  also, 
put  out  of  control,  went  hurtling  to  earth.  In 
the  midst  of  this  particular  fight,  two  Fokkers, 
seeing  that  their  comrade  was  in  a  tight  corner 
and  likely  to  be  beaten,  came  humming  through 
the  air,  intent  on  smashing  the  Britishers. 
So  anxious  were  they,  however,  that  they 
narrowly  missed  destruction  themselves,  only 
the  skill  and  coolness  of  their  pilots  averting 
a  collision  in  mid-air.  This  little  episode  in 
the  drama  resulted  in  their  being  too  late  to 
assist  the  doomed  Roland. 

M'Cubbin  flying  at  8000  feet  had  witnessed 
these  various  incidents,  and  was  hurrying  to 

199 


Thrilling  Deeds 

the   attack,   when  he   caught   sight   of  three 
Fokkers  hovering  some  5000  feet  above  him, 
and  about  to  swoop  down  to  attack  Lieutenant 
Savage.     The  latter  was  ready  for  them,  and 
when  the  first  Fokker   appeared  he  assailed 
it  vigorously  and  skilfully,   sending  it  down 
in    a    spinning     nose  -  dive.       Scarcely     had 
he  disposed  of  this  foe  when  he  was  attacked 
by  the  other  two  Fokkers,  which  came  sweep- 
ing  down    toward    him.      Fokkers   being   de- 
signed  for   sudden    descents   and   fitted  with 
fixed  machine-guns  which  spray  their  bullets 
as  the  machine  swoops  down,  it  was  necessary 
for  Lieutenant  Savage  to,  out-manoeuvre  his 
opponents  ;    so,  to  avoid  that  first  rush,  and 
to  be  ready  to  attack  the  Fokkers  when  oppor- 
tunity  offered,  he   suddenly   dived   to  within 
5500  feet  of  the  ground.      M'Cubbin  reaHzed 
what  was  in  Savage's  mind,  and  determined  to 
go  to  his  assistance,  although  this  called  for  a 
sheer  drop  of  2500  feet  if  he  was  to  get  into 
the  zone  of  the  battle. 

Down  went  the  Fokkers,  straight  and 
steady  as  stones  dropped  from  a  balloon,  and 
following  them  in  the  wild  dramatic  dive  was 


200 


Man  zi'ho  brought  dozen  Immelmamt 

M'Cubbin.  The  machine-guns  on  the  Fokkers 
were  spitting  viciously,  and  M'Cubbin  saw 
Savage's  machine  suddenly  swerve  dangerously. 
He  knew  what  had  happened ;  the  leading 
Fokker,  diving  headlong  for  the  tail  of  the 
British  battle-plane,  had  pelted  it  with  nickel 
missiles,  one  of  which  had  evidently  caught 
the  gallant  Savage.  The  British  pilot  lost 
control  of  his  machine,  the  engine  of  which 
had  also  been  hit,  and  he  plunged  down  to 
earth  and  died  the  death  of  a  defeated  airman. 
The  Fokker  which  had  brought  about  this 
disaster  was  piloted  by  the  redoubtable 
Immelmann,  who  had  once  more  played  his 
dangerous  trick  of  spraying  shots  as  he  swooped ; 
but  he  was  to  play  the  trick  no  more. 
M'Cubbin,  dropping  plumb  for  his  foe,  reached 
him  before  he  had  time  to  right  the  Fokker 
after  the  triumphant  encounter.  Another  man 
might  have  given  the  order  to  fire  while 
still  at  a  safe  distance,  but  M'Cubbin,  knowing 
that  he  could  rely  upon  the  nerves  of  his 
observer,  who  was  manning  the  machine-gun, 
and  knowing  too  that  as  the  Fokker's  gun 
was  fixed  it   could  not  be  brought   to  bear 

201 


Thrilling  Deeds 

unless  the  machine  turned,  sailed  close  into 
Immelmann  while  the  latter  was  still  trying  to 
complete  the  wide  circle  which  should  bring 
him  into  position  to  attack. 

The  great  moment  came  when  the  F.E. 
and  Fokker  were  close  together,  so  close  that 
they  were  almost  touching  each  other,  and 
then  M'Cubbin's  observer  fired.  That  en- 
counter took  place  at  something  less  than  a 
thousand  feet  above  ground,  and  the  first 
round  ended  the  battle.  M'Cubbin's  machine 
was  driving,  like  a  wheel  within  a  wheel,  along- 
side the  unfortunate  Immelmann,  who,  caught 
off  his  guard,  suddenly  banked  in  the  hope 
of  being  able  to  outmanoeuvre  the  Briton  ; 
but  it  was  a  forlorn  hope.  A  steady  stream  of 
bullets  poured  into  the  Fokker,  and  Immel- 
mann, wounded  and  incapacitated,  could  make 
no  effort  to  right  the  Fokker,  which  turned 
clean  over  on  its  right  side  and  fell  like  a  stone 
to  the  ground,  where  it  burst  into  flames. 

Immelmann  had  fought  his  last  fight,  had 
brought  down  his  last  foe.  Yet  even  as  the 
German  went  hurtling  to  his  death,  the  second 
Fokker  swung  round,  with  the  evident  intention 

202 


Man  who  brought  down  Immelmanyi 

of  getting  at  M'Cubbin  before  he  could  right 
his  F.E.  But  M'Cubbin  was  ready,  for  as  he 
saw  Immehnann  go  shthering  down  to  earth 
he  banked  sharply,  turned  in  an  amazingly 
short  circle,  and  made  direct  for  the  Fokker. 
The  gallant  Lieutenant  knew  all  about  Fokkers 
and  their  disadvantages,  even  as  he  knew  the 
advantages  they  possessed  if  once  their  pilots 
could  obtain  the  right  position.  The  Fokker 
has  such  a  short  span  of  wing  that  it  cannot  be 
banked  to  any  great  extent  without  developing 
a  nose-dive,  so  that  at  the  end  of  a  dive  it 
has  to  make  a  large  circle.  The  F.E.,  on  the 
other  hand,  having  a  much  wider  span,  can 
practically  "  stand  on  its  wing  tips,"  which 
enables  it  to  turn  in  an  exceedingly  narrow 
circle. 

In  just  the  same  way  that  naval  men  have 
worked  out  sea-tactics,  so  have  our  airmen 
evolved  air-tactics,  and  M'Cubbin  was  an 
adept.  He  knew  perfecth^  the  capabilities 
of  his  F.E.,  and  as  the  Fokker  reached  the 
end  of  its  dive  and  began  the  wide  swooping 
circle.  Lieutenant  M'Cubbin  steered  his  machine 
into  what  may  be  termed  the  centre  of  that 

203 


Thrilling  Deeds 

circle.  By  steep  banks  and  sudden  turns  he 
kept  his  machine  inside,  while  his  observer 
was  slipping  in  fresh  cartridges,  merely  waiting 
for  the  exact  moment  to  come  when  he  could 
fire. 

Then  the  unexpected  happened  :  the  pilot 
of  the  Fokker,  evidently  nervous  of  a  man 
who  could  out-class  Immelmann,  and  realizing 
that  M'Cubbin's  F.E.  had  the  advantage  in 
powers  plus  that  of  position,  instead  of  com- 
pleting the  circle  which  might  have  brought 
him  to  where  he  could  attack,  suddenly  gave 
up  the  fight,  and  went  sailing  away  to  friendly 
shelter,  leaving  M'Cubbin  the  victor  in  what 
had  been  a  thrilling  battle  ! 

M'Cubbin  and  his  observer  were  both  un- 
injured, but  their  machine  bore  honourable 
marks  of  the  fight,  its  planes  being  holed  in 
numerous  places,  and  its  fuselage  looking  like 
the  top  of  a  pepper-box. 

A  week  later  M'Cubbin  fought  another 
battle,  and  was  not  so  fortunate,  although  he 
was  almost  as  successful.  In  many  respects 
this  second  battle  had  in  it  more  of  the  ele- 
ments that  thrill  than  that  with  Immelmann, 

204 


Man  zuko  brought  dozvn  hmnehnann 

although  because  of  the  lauded  prowess  of 
the  German  more  glamour  surrounded  the 
previous  affair. 

Lieutenant  M'Cubbin  with  four  other  ma- 
chines had  been  on  a  bombing  expedition,  and, 
their  work  completed,  the  airmen  were  re- 
turning home  when  a  Fokker  followed  them 
and  attacked  one  of  the  British  machines. 
M'Cubbin  was  well  in  advance,  but,  looking 
round,  saw  the  Fokker  coming ;  so  banking, 
he  swung  round,  recrossed  our  lines,  and  sailed 
into  the  fight. 

M'Cubbin  used  all  his  skill  to  obtain  the 
advantage  of  position,  and  the  Fokker  pilot 
did  his  best  to  get  above  his  foe  and  use  the 
tactics  which  had  always  proved  so  successful. 
While  the  aeroplanes  were  engaged  in  lighting 
for  position,  the  machine-guns  spat  angrily, 
bullets  spattered  through  nacelles  and  ripped 
their  way  through  the  planes.  Almost  simul- 
taneously two  bullets  got  home  :  one  from 
the  British  battle-plane  hit  the  Fokker,  which 
toppled  over  and  hurtled  to  destruction ; 
the  other,  from  the  Fokker,  smashed  its 
way  through  the   nacelle,  entered   M'Cubbin's 

205 


Thrilling  Deeds 

shoulder,  passed  clean   through   the   muscles, 
and  lodged  in  his  forearm. 

By  a  supreme  effort  M'Cubbin  kept  his 
head ;  the  pain  was  terrible,  and  the  arm 
was  rendered  utterly  useless  ;  blood  flowed 
freely,  weakening  him  every  minute.  But  to 
descend  then  meant  falling  into  the  enemy's 
hands,  and  M'Cubbin  was  determined  that 
that  should  not  happen  if  it  were  humanly 
possible  to  avoid  doing  so.  He  swung  his 
machine  round  and,  his  eyes  misty,  his  head 
swimming,  he  made  a  bolt  for  his  own  base. 
Over  the  trenches  filled  with  British  soldiers, 
who  had  breathlessly  watched  the  combat 
in  mid-air,  and  had  cheered  enthusiastically 
when  they  saw  the  Fokker  go  down  ;  over  the 
trenches  and  beyond  to  where  the  aerodrome 
stood  clearly  marked  out,  M'Cubbin  drove 
his  aerial  steed.  Every  moment  seemed  an 
age,  every  necessary  touch  of  the  '  joy-stick ' 
jolted  the  wounded  arm;  but  M'Cubbin 
held  on,  knowing  that  he  must  get  his 
machine  to  safety  quickly  lest  the  petrol 
ran  out  owing  to  the  tank  having  been 
shot   through.     Onward  and  downward,  in   a 

206 


Man  who  broiight  dozen  Ivimelmann 

beautiful  volplane  he  went  to  meet  the  up- 
rising ground,  coming  to  rest  as  Hghtly  as  a 
bird,  and  then  collapsing  through  loss  of 
blood  the  moment  his  machine  touched  earth. 
For  his  gallant  conduct  in  these  two  en- 
counters Lieutenant  M'Cubbin  received  the 
D.S.O. 


207 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

ON  the  night  of  March  31st- April  ist, 
1916,  three  ZeppeHns  sailed  over  the 
stormy  wastes  of  the  North  Sea, 
reached  the  East  Coast,  and  then  separated, 
each  to  carry  out  the  fell  work  assigned  to 
it  by  those  safe  in  far-off  Germany.  One  of 
them,  L15,  in  charge  of  Commander  Breithaupt, 
headed  for  the  Metropolis.  Breithaupt,  who 
had  received  the  Iron  Cross  and  the  Order  pour 
le  Merite  for  a  previous  raid  on  London  in 
September  1915,  profiting  by  the  knowledge 
gained  on  that  occasion,  set  a  course  which 
he  hoped  would  enable  him  to  elude  certain 
batteries  of  the  land  defences.  His  guide 
was  Father  Thames,  and  he  steered  his  giant 
gas-bag  so  skilfully  that  he  penetrated  some 
considerable  distance  inland  before  he  was 
discovered.  Probably  he  and  his  crew  were 
congratulating  themselves  upon  their  feat, 
and  expecting  to  be  able  to  reach  their  ob- 

208 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

jective  before  being  discovered.  They  were, 
however,  sadly  disillusioned.  Suddenly  the 
inky  darkness  was  pierced  by  two  brilliant 
shafts  of  light  which  shot  up  and,  with  un- 
erring aim,  swathed  the  Zeppelin  in  a  white 
effulgence  which  dazzled  the  crew. 

Realizing  that  searchlights  were  the  pre- 
lude to  shrapnel,  Breithaupt  immediately  took 
action.  He  released  the  bombs  intended  for 
London  Town  in  order  to  lighten  his  craft  and 
enable  him  to  rise  quickly  out  of  range  of  the 
searchlights,  and  especially  of  the  anti-aircraft 
guns  which  he  knew  would  presently  open  fire. 

Even  as  the  first  bomb  crashed  thunderously 
below,  there  came  another  sound  from  the 
earth,  and  a  shell,  followed  quickly  by  others, 
went  screaming  up  past  the  Zeppelin.  A 
circle  of  bursting  stars  seemed  to  be  made 
round  the  doomed  airship,  and  one  of  them 
burst  right  on  top  of  the  envelope,  near  the 
tail,  making  a  great  hole  in  the  fabric  and 
causing  the  gas  to  escape  in  large  quantities. 
The  Zeppelin,  despite  the  fact  that  her  crew 
frantically  loosed  most  of  her  bombs,  began 
to  fall.  As  she  slowly  descended,  yet  another 
o  209 


Thidlling  Deeds 

shell  caught  her,  and  Breithaupt,  realizing  that 
he  was  in  sore  straits,  swung  his  monstrous 
craft  round  and  tried  to  head  her  northward. 
If  he  hoped  to  give  the  slip  to  the  search- 
lights, he  was  grievously  disappointed,  for 
the  pencils  of  light  seemed  glued  on  to  L15, 
never  leaving  her  for  a  single  second ;  and 
the  batteries  maintained  a  terrific  fire.  The 
marksmanship  on  that  night  was  remarkably 
good,  for  yet  another  shell  smashed  one  if  not 
two  of  the  propellers  of  the  Zeppelin,  and 
the  watchers  below  saw  that  she  was  now 
pursuing  an  erratic  course,  evidently  being 
quite  out  of  control. 

Meanwhile,  ranging  over  the  eastern  coun- 
ties, another  raider  was  finding  things  rather 
uncomfortable.  Her  commander  had  en- 
deavoured to  elude  the  outer  defences  of 
London,  but,  unfortunately  for  him,  the  air- 
ship had  been  '  spotted '  and  very  soon  was 
under  heavy  bombardment  from  the  batteries 
beneath.  At  the  same  time,  above  the  roar 
of  the  airship's  engines  there  came  to  her 
commander  a  sound  which  told  him  that  not 
only  had  he  land  defences  threatening  him, 

210 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

but  that  an  aeroplane  was  also  buzzing 
around  ! 

The  pilot  of  this  particular  'plane  was  Second- 
Lieutenant  A.  de  Bath  Brandon,  a  young  New 
Zealander  who  had  taken  his  '  ticket '  only  a 
brief  three  weeks  before,  and  was  totally  in- 
experienced in  aerial  fighting.  The  Germans, 
however,  were  to  discover  that  British  airmen 
are  daring  enough  for  anything  ;  for  Lieu- 
tenant Brandon,  who  had  ascended  from 
his  station  immediately  news  of  the  raiders 
had  been  received,  catching  sight  of  the 
Zeppelin  flying  3000  feet  above,  steered  boldly 
to  the  attack. 

Now,  it  takes  an  aeroplane  some  minutes 
to  climb  3000  feet,  and  in  the  meantime  the 
pilot  knew  that  it  was  not  at  all  unlikely  that 
the  Zeppelin  might  jettison  its  cargo  of  bombs 
and,  thus  lightened,  be  able  to  escape  scot- 
free.  Lieutenant  Brandon  determined  that 
this  should  not  be  ;  so,  getting  every  ounce  of 
power  from  his  engine,  and  setting  his  machine 
to  climb  at  her  fastest,  he  rose  higher  and 
higher,  until  at  last  he  was  directly  over  the 
gas-bag.     On  the  top  of  the  envelope  some  of 

211 


Thrilling  Deeds 

the  Zeppelin  crew  were  ready  for  him  with 
their  machine-guns,  while  the  airship's  search- 
lights were  sweeping  the  darkness  in  an  effort 
to  pick  up  the  daring  wasp  that  was  so  fool- 
hardy as  to  attack  the  giant  of  the  air. 

Lieutenant  Brandon,  as  soon  as  he  was  in 
position  favourable  to  attack,  let  loose  several 
bombs,  some  of  which  went  whizzing  past  the 
envelope,  while  one  at  least  struck  home,  but 
with  what  effect  was  uncertain. 

What  happened  after  that  is  not  clear  ;  but 
later  that  same  night  Lieutenant  Brandon 
was  engaged  in  another  attack  on  a  Zeppelin, 
and  gave  her  the  benefit  of  a  couple  more 
bombs,  hitting  her  on  the  nose.  It  seems 
not  at  all  unlikely  that  L15  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  had  received  a  nasty  mauling  from 
the  anti-aircraft  batteries,  was  the  identical 
Zeppelin  which  felt  the  force  of  these  latter 
bombs.  This  much  is  certain,  however :  when 
day  broke,  L15  was  discovered  by  the  steam 
trawler  Olivine  (Lieutenant-Commander  W.  R. 
Mackintosh,  R.N.R.)  floating  near  the  Knock 
Lightship  with  her  back  broken.  Breithaupt 
and  his  crew  surrendered,  but  not  before  they 

212 


Some  Zeppelin  Stra/ers 

had  taken  the  precaution  of  placing  a  time- 
bomb  which  destroyed  the  airship  while  her 
captors  were  attempting  to  tow  her  into 
harbour. 

It  is  significant  of  the  German  attitude  in 
war,  and  of  the  kind  of  treatment  that  the 
Huns  expect  as  a  just  recompense  for  their 
brutal  crimes,  that  the  prisoners  were  not  a 
little  surprised  at  the  humane  treatment  they 
received  !  Commander  Breithaupt,  indeed,  as 
though  to  palliate  the  crime  of  his  crew,  took 
upon  himself  all  responsibility,  saying  that  his 
men  simply  obeyed  orders. 
f  It  has  taken  the  Germans  a  long  time  to 
realize  that  Britons  fight  with  clean  hands, 
even  against  a  foe  who  does  not  hesitate  to 
use  every  means,  foul  or  fair,  in  the  pursuit 
of  his  villainous  designs. 

For  his  fine  feat,  Lieutenant  Brandon  re- 
ceived the  D.S.O. 

Following  this  raid,  there  were  a  number  of 
other  visits  over  various  English  counties  by 
hostile  airships ;  but  we  have  no  space  to 
recount  all  the  heroic  deeds  performed  by 
British  airmen  in  driving  off  the  raiders.     A 

213 


Thrilling  Deeds 

few  incidents  may,  however,  be  recounted, 
as,  for  instance,  the  gallant  attacks  made 
by  Flight-Lieutenants  Vincent  Nicholl,  F.  G. 
Darby  Hards,  and  C.  H.  C.  Smith,  all  of  the 
Royal  Naval  Air  Service. 

On  April  25th,  1916,  an  unknown  number  of 
airships  visited  Essex  and  Kent  and,  without 
having  committed  any  damage,  were  return- 
ing to  their  base,  when  they  were  attacked  by 
our  airmen.  Flight-Lieut enants  Nicholl  and 
Hards  pursued  one  of  them  for  sixty  miles  out 
to  sea.  Coming  up  with  her  they  dived  until 
they  were  within  a  few  hundred  feet  of  the 
airship,  when  they  attacked  her  with  darts 
and  bombs,  with  what  result  did  not  transpire. 
Flight-Lieutenant  Smith,  also,  chased  another 
of  the  Zeppelins  for  fifty  miles,  hanging  on  to 
her  relentlessly  until  it  was  useless  to  proceed 
any  farther.  He  was  returning  to  his  base 
when  he  sighted  a  fleet  of  enemy  warships 
accompanied  by  submarines.  Naval  airmen 
are  ready  for  anything  that  ploughs  the  seas 
or  sails  through  the  air,  and  Lieutenant  Smith 
promptly  attacked  the  submarines,  dropping 
his  bombs  with  such  accuracy  that  the  undcrsea- 

214  ' 


Some  Zeppelin  Sirafers 

craft  were  very  glad  to  clang  down  their  hatches 
and  submerge,  without  waiting  for  the  gallant 
aviator  to  repeat  the  dose. 

On  July  31st  other  raiders  appeared,  and  on 
this  occasion  scattered  bombs  over  a  wide 
area,  but  doing  little  material  damage  and 
fortunately  without  inflicting  any  casualties. 
It  was  during  this  raid  that  one  of  our  aero- 
planes, piloted  by  an  officer  whose  name  was 
not  given,  pursued  a  Zeppelin  for  thirty  miles 
out  to  sea,  and  on  coming  within  range  attacked 
her  with  his  machine-gun.  Then  hard  luck 
came  to  him,  for  while  he  was  still  pulling  the 
trigger  of  his  gun  the  weapon  broke  and  a 
portion  of  it  crashed  into  him,  stunning  him 
so  badly  that  for  a  while  he  was  unable  to 
control  his  machine,  which  began  to  drop. 
The  rush  of  the  cool  air  revived  the  gallant 
aviator,  however,  while  the  machine  was  still 
well  above  the  water,  and  he  succeeded  in 
regaining  control  of  it ;  but  of  the  enemy  he 
had  hoped  to  '  strafe '  there  was  no  sign.  He 
was  therefore  compelled  to  return  to  his  station, 
feeling,  no  doubt,  pretty  sore  at  the  scurvy 
trick  that  Fate  had  played  him. 

215 


Thrilling  Deeds 

In  another  chapter  we  have  told  the  story 
of  the  briUiant  way  in  which  Lieutenant 
Warneford  destroyed  a  Zeppehn  in  flight,  and 
this  performance  was  repeated  over  British  soil 
by  Lieutenant  W.  L.  Robinson  on  September 
3rd,  1916.  The  moment  was  indeed  a  dramatic 
one,  for  this  was  the  first  aerial  monster  to  be 
brought  down  in  England,  and  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  people  who  witnessed  the  thrilling 
deed  were  fired  with  a  righteous  emotion  born 
of  their  knowledge  that  the  victim  was  engaged 
upon  a  dastardly  attempt  to  murder  their 
loved  ones. 

On  September  5th,  1916,  the  London  Gazette 
published  the  following  announcement : 

"  H.M.  the  King  has  been  graciously  pleased 
to  award  the  V.C.  to  the  undermentioned 
officer  : 

"  Lieutenant  Wm.  Leefe  Robinson  (Worcester 
Regt.  and  R.F.C.),  for  most  conspicuous 
bravery. 

"  He  attacked  an  enemy  airship  under  cir- 
cumstances of  great  difficulty  and  danger,  and 
sent  it  crashing  to  the  ground  as  a  flaming 
wreck. 

216 


The  Destruction  of  a  Zeppelin  at  Cuffley  by  Lieut.   Robinson 


216 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

"  He  had  been  in  the  air  for  more  than  two 
hours,  and  had  previously  attacked  another 
airship  during  his  flight." 

That  is  the  bald  official  announcement,  which 
goes  into  no  details,  and  very  wisely,  because 
the  enemy  would  give  much  to  know  the  means 
whereby  that  airship  and  others  which  later  met 
the  same  doom  were  destroyed.  It  is  possible, 
however,  to  fill  in  a  few  items  of  interest  which 
may  tend  to  increase  the  admiration  of  British 
people  for  the  man  whom  so  many  of  them 
regard  as  their  deliverer. 

Of  the  Lieutenant  himself  it  may  be  said  that 
he  was  born  at  Tellidetta,  South  Coorg,  South 
India,  and  had  not  turned  twenty-one  when 
he  won  his  Victoria  Cross.  His  father  was  Mr 
Horace  Robinson,  ^on  of  Mr  W.  C.  Robinson, 
R.N.,  Chief  Naval  Constructor  at  Portsmouth 
Dockyard.  The  hero  of  the  great  raid  was 
brought  to  England  when  he  was  six  months 
old,  but  returned  to  India  when  he  was  seven 
years.  At  fourteen  he  was  back  in  England,  at 
St  Bees  School,  Cumberland,  later  going  to 
France  and  eventually  entering  Sandhurst. 
That  was  in  August  1914,  just  after  the  war 

217 


Thrilling  Deeds 

broke  out,  and  on  December  i6th  of  that  year  he 
was  gazetted  to  the  Worcestershire  Regiment. 
Joining  the  Flying  Corps  soon  afterward,  he 
was  in  France  as  an  observer  from  February 
1 915  to  May  9th,  on  which  date  he  was  wounded 
in  the  arm  by  shrapnel  while  flying  over  Lille. 
Returning  to  England,  after  convalescence 
he  went  into  training  as  a  pilot,  and  took 
his  '  ticket '  on  July  28th,  1915.  Making  a 
speciality  of  night  flying,  he  saw  much  service 
and  performed  good  work  in  connexion  with 
the  air-raids  over  England  during  the  seven 
months  preceding  that  '  one  crowded  hour  of 
glorious  life '  when  he  brought  down  the 
giant  foe.  Seven  months  later,  during  the 
strenuous  fighting  which  prepared  the  way  for 
the  great  British  advance  beyond  Arras,  and 
which  grew  to  proportions  greater  than  those 
of  any  previous  battles  in  the  air,  he  developed 
motor  trouble  during  a  combat  with  the  German 
champion  Festner,  and  was  forced  to  descend 
behind  the  enemy  lines,  where  he  was  captured 
by  a  number  of  German  soldiers. 

So  much  for  the  man.     Now  for  the  details 
of  his  heroic  deed. 

218 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

On  September  2nd,  1916,  Zeppelins  came 
over  to  England  in  force,  and  an  official  report 
placed  their  number  at  thirteen  and  announced 
that  the  raid  was  the  most  formidable  Zeppelin 
attack  which  had  been  made  on  Great  Britain. 
Unfortunately  for  the  raiders,  they  paid  their 
visit  just  after  the  lighting  precautions  of  London 
and  certain  other  areas  had  been  improved,  and 
also  at  about  the  time  when  the  defence  or- 
ganization generally  had  been  perfected.  The 
result  of  the  new  lighting  arrangements  was  that 
the  airships,  "  instead  of  steering  a  steady  course 
as  in  the  raids  of  the  spring  and  last  autumn, 
groped  about  in  the  darkness  looking  for  a 
safe  avenue  of  approach  to  their  objectives." 

With  the  airships  which  directed  their  atten- 
tions to  the  more  eastern  counties  we  are  not 
concerned  here,  our  main  interest  being  con- 
nected with  one  of  the  three  which  were  able 
to  approach  within  reach  of  London.  The 
first  inkling  that  the  people  of  the  Metropolis 
and  the  surrounding  district  had  of  the  presence 
of  the  raider  was  the  crash  of  exploding  bombs 
and  the  barking  of  the  anti-aircraft  guns. 
Where  the  bombs  were  failing  the  people  wisely 

219 


Thrilling  Deeds 

kept  within  doors,  remaining  as  calm  as  could 
be  expected  under  such  circumstances  ;  but 
farther  away  spectators  were  to  be  found 
everywhere,  peering  up  into  the  sky,  and 
following  the  pencil  lines  of  light  at  the  ends  of 
which  the  form  of  the  airship  was  to  be  seen 
clearly  outlined.  The  bursting  shells  made 
the  sky  beautiful,  and  many  a  cry  and  shout 
went  up  that  the  raider  was  hit.  Then  after  a 
while  there  came  a  wonderful  stillness,  and 
the  people  of  London  stood  waiting,  spellbound, 
as  though  expecting  something  novel  and 
tremendous  to  happen.  They  were  not  dis- 
appointed. The  lines  of  light  seemed  to 
have  become  immovably  focused  upon  the 
airship.  A  silence  that  seemed  to  last 
hours,  but  which  was  really  only  of  a  few 
moments'  duration,  and  then  the  miracle 
happened  :  a  light  spurted  along  the  airship, 
a  light  that  could  be  seen  for  many  miles,  and 
yet  which  was  as  the  feeble  flickering  of  a 
guttering  candle  compared  with  the  flare 
that  almost  immediately  followed.  The  whole 
heavens  were  hghted  up  by  a  crimson  glow, 
which  made  it  possible  to  read — if  there  had 

220 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

been  anyone  so  nonchalant  as  to  want  to  read ! — 
even  though  the  hour  was  between  2  and  3 
in  the  morning.  A  moment's  deathly  silence, 
as  though  the  watching  crowds  could  scarcely 
realize  what  had  happened,  and  then  up  rose 
such  a  cheering,  such  a  shouting  as  surely  has 
seldom  been  heard  ;  for  the  people  of  London 
at  last  grasped  the  fact  that  some  one,  they 
knew  not  who,  had  performed  a  miracle, 
and  had  saved  many  of  them  from  a  tragic 
fate. 

Meanwhile,  the  stricken  airship  was  falling 
earthward,  like  a  flaming  dragon,  nose  down- 
ward. As  though  her  flaming,  blazing  envelope 
were  acting  as  a  parachute,  she  fell  slowly, 
and  not  rapidly  as  many  expected  ;  but  she 
fell,  nevertheless,  and,  as  an.  eye-witness  wrote, 
"  when  yet  some  5000  feet  up,  the  light,  especi- 
ally at  the  lower  end,  turned  to  a  brilliant 
ruby,  lightening  away  through  crimson  and 
pink  to  an  incandescent  white  at  the  top, 
the  following  flames,  above,  being  pale 
yellow." 

As  the  monster  came  nearer  to  earth,  the 
spectators    in    the    immediate    neighbourhood 

221 


Thrilling  Deeds 

heard  a  crackling  as  of  exploding  ammunition 
(the  cases  of  which  were  later  found  making 
a  track  which  indicated  the  path  of  the  air- 
ship's drift)  ;  and  then,  with  a  final  plunge, 
the  raider  dived  to  earth,  falling  near  Hill 
Farm  Cottage,  outside  Cuffiey.  Remarkable 
to  relate,  the  storekeeper  in  that  farm  heard 
nothing  !  He  was  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the 
just,  surely  ! 

When  at  last  the  airship  touched  earth,  and 
the  flames  were  mounting  upward,  those  who 
had  witnessed  the  spectacle  saw  three  coloured 
lights,  suspended,  as  it  were,  from  the  dome 
of  heaven  itself,  and  they  realized  that  some- 
where up  there  the  men  who  had  braved  the 
machine-guns  of  the  aerial  foe  were  hovering, 
as  though  looking  down  in  triumph  upon  their 
fallen  enemy. 

And  what  had  happened  up  there  ?  How 
had  this  great  work  been  done  ?  Some  day, 
perhaps,  the  world  will  know  the  story  in  its 
entirety  ;  but,  meantime,  we  must  be  content 
with  the  facts  as  they  were  allowed  to  be  given 
by  those  who  took  part  in  the  great  achieve- 
ment.    And  we  cannot  do  better  than  round 

222 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

off  this  story  with  the  accounts  of  two  officers, 
one  of  them  the  man  who  later  was  to  receive 
the  Victoria  Cross  for  his  personal  part  in  the 
affair. 

Lieutenant  Robinson  soon  after  the  event 
said  : 

"  I  had  been  up  something  over  an  hour 
when  I  saw  the  first  Zeppelin.  She  was  flying 
high,  and  I  followed  her,  climbing  to  get  a 
position  above.  But  there  was  a  heavy  fog, 
and  she  escaped  me.  I  attacked  her  at  long 
range,  but  she  made  off  before  I  could  see  if 
I  had  done  any  damage.  The  next  ship  I  saw 
I  determined  I  would  attack  from  the  first 
position  I  found.  I  met  her  just  after  two 
o'clock.  She  was  flying  10,000  feet.  Soon 
she  appeared  to  catch  fire  in  her  forward  petrol 
tank.  The  flames  spread  rapidly  along  her 
body.  She  made  off  eastward  on  fire.  In 
several  minutes  she  dipped  by  the  nose  and 
dived  slowly  in  flames  to  the  earth.  I  was  so 
pleased  that  in  my  excitement  I  pulled  the 
'  joy-stick  '  and  looped  the  loop  several  times. 
Then  I  showed  my  signal  to  stop  firing  and 
came  back." 

223 


Thrilliiig  Deeds 

Later  still,  when  he  was  presented  with  a 
handsome  cheque  which  had  been  promised 
to  the  airman  who  should  first  bring  down  a 
German  air-ship  over  Britain,  he  made  the 
following  modest  speech  to  the  enthusiastic 
company  assembled  to  do  him  honour  : 

"  The  thing  that  I  had  the  good  fortune  to 
do  is  a  thing  which  anybody  in  the  Corps, 
you  all  know  perfectly  well,  would  have  done 
if  they  had  had  the  same  good  fortune  that 
I  had. 

"I  was  not  the  only  one  to  go  up  after  that 
Zeppelin.  You  must  know  that  in  the  case 
of  every  Zeppelin  that  has  been  over  England 
or  near  England  there  have  been  many  airmen 
who  have  gone  up,  and  in  far  worse  conditions 
than  I  had,  I  think,  that  night — in  conditions 
that  meant  almost  certain  death. 

"  Many  of  them  have  met  their  death  in 
chasing  these  inhuman  murderers  who  have 
come  over  here. 

"  Men,  friends  of  mine,  have  been  maimed 
for  life  by  going  up  just  on  the  off-chance 
of  '  strafing  '  them  on  absolutely  impossible 
nights,  nights  when  it  has  been  exceedingly 

224 


Some  Zeppelm  Strafers 

difficult  to  land,  misty  nights,  nights  when  you 
can't  see  the  ground — you  get  up  into  the 
mists  and  can  see  nothing  of  earth.  All  these 
deeds  I  consider  a  hundred  times  more  heroic 
than  the  thing  I  did. 

"  It  was,  I  must  impress  upon  you  all,  merely 
good  fortune  on  my  part.  I  feel  a  lot  of  honour 
and  glory  have  already  been  given  me,  and 
I  feel  almost,  I  would  not  say  criminal  ;  I 
can't  quite  express  my  feelings  on  the  subject, 
but  I  know  I  don't  deserve  all  this  kindness — 
all  that  you  dear  people  have  shown  me. 

"  I  just  want  to  thank  you,  and  am  sorry 
English  is  such  a  poor  language.  If  I  could 
express  myself  as  I  could  wish  I  should  say  a 
good  bit  more,  but  I  simply  cannot." 

One  of  those  other  of&cers,  to  whom  Lieu- 
tenant Robinson  so  handsomely  referred,  had 
also  a  story  to  tell,  which  throws  a  little  more 
light  upon  the  achievement  of  the  hero  of 
the  occasion.  That  particular  officer,  who 
must  be  nameless,  had  gone  up  in  a  high- 
powered  biplane,  and  had  to  climb  to  nearly 
10,000  feet  before  he  could  engage  the  raider, 
which,  harassed  by  two  other  aeroplanes,  was 
p  225 


Thrilling  Deeds 

endeavouring  to  get  away,  at  the  same  time 
rapping  out  a  hot  fire  with  its  machine-guns. 
The  airship,  said  the  officer,  "was  travelhng 
at  top  steed,  first  diving,  and  then  ascend- 
ing, and  apparently  Lieutenant  Robinson,  who 
was  the  officer  piloting  the  biplane  which 
had  first  attacked  the  raider,  anticipated  the 
manoeuvre. 

"  The  commander  of  the  airship  threw  out 
tremendous  clouds  of  black  smoke,  which 
completely  hid  him  from  our  view,  and  in 
which  he  managed  to  rise.  A  few  seconds 
later  we  saw  the  airship  a  couple  of  thousand 
feet  above  us,  and  at  the  same  altitude  was 
Lieutenant  Robinson,  although  a  matter  of, 
perhaps,  half  a  mile  away.  Immediately 
Robinson  headed  his  machine  for  the  raider, 
^and  flying  at  a  terrific  speed,  it  appeared  that 
he  was  going  to  charge  the  monster." 

Then  followed  that  brilliant  spectacle  of 
the  sky,  and,  as  the  airship  fell  in  flames,  a 
second  aerial  monster  approached  the  airmen, 
who  were  ready  for  it.  Evidently  the  sight 
of  the  fate  of  his  companion  made  the  com- 
mander of  this  airship  decide  to  hurry  off,  for 

226 


Some  Zeppeli7i  Strafers 

he  promptly  and  swiftly  turned  his  craft  round 
and  "  scurried  off  as  fast  as  his  engines  would 
enable  him  to  travel.  At  such  a  height  and  in 
the  darkness  it  was  impossible  to  pick  him  up." 

All  Britain  was  heartened  by  the  brilliant 
achievement  of  Lieutenant  Robinson,  for 
until  then  there  had  been  a  feeling  that  our 
successes  against  raiding  aircraft  were  more 
the  result  of  good  chance  than  anything  else  ; 
the  Cuffley  episode  proved  that  preparedness 
and  skill  had  been  brought  to  such  a  pitch 
that  raiders  could  never  again  repeat  their 
easy  murders  of  the  past. 

To  tell  the  stories  of  the  '  strafing  '  of  yet 
four  more  Zeppelins  during  raids  on  Britain 
would  be  to  paraphrase  the  account  of  the 
one  just  given,  for  in  every  particular,  so 
far  as  we  are  at  present  allowed  to  know, 
the  deeds  of  Second-Lieutenants  F.  Sowrey 
and  Alfred  de  Bath  Brandon^  (both  of  the 
Royal  Flying  Corps),  when  two  Zeppelins 
were  brought  down  on  September  24-25,  were 
duplicates  of  the  achievement  of  Lieutenant 

^  A  previous  exploit  of  Lieutenant  Brandon's  is  described 
at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter. 

227 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Robinson.  The  Zeppelins  were  part  of  a 
force  which  visited  England  on  the  date 
named,  and  one  of  them,  at  least,  was  attacked 
by  Lieutenants  Sowrey  and  Brandon  and  other 
airmen,  who  chased  her  from  the  south  of 
London  as  she  headed  north  and  then  turned 
north-east.  The  airship,  which  was  L32,  was 
flying  higher  than  any  of  her  predecessors  had 
flown  over  London.  Such  little  details  of  the 
event  as  were  allowed  to  leak  out  show  that 
Lieutenant  Sowrey,  when  he  had  climbed 
high  enough,  attacked  the  Zeppelin  and  was 
in  turn  attacked  ;  the  giant  ship  manoeuvred 
so  that  her  machine-guns  could  be  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  aviator,  who  by  wonderful 
skill  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  position  so  that, 
in  the  manner  which  is  the  close  secret  of  the 
Flying  Service,  he  was  able  to  get  in  the  blow 
that  set  the  Zeppelin  on  fire  from  end  to  end 
and  sent  her  swiftly  to  earth,  a  flaming  wreck. 
The  second  ship  (L33)  to  meet  disaster  that 
night  was  so  badly  knocked  about  by  the  gun- 
fire of  the  London  defences  that,  owing  to 
loss  of  gas,  she  had  to  descend  near  the 
Essex  coast,  where  the  Germans  blew  up  their 

228 


Sonic  Zeppelin  Stra/ers 

craft  and  then  marched  along  the  quiet  country 
roads  in  quest  of  some  one  to  whom  they  could 
surrender.  A  special  constable  met  them,  and 
they  asked  him  the  way  to  a  certain  town. 
One  of  the  party  then  volunteered  the  astound- 
ing information  :  "  Zeppelin  engine  exploded — 
we  crew — prisoners  of  war." 

No  doubt  that  '  special '  had  about  the 
funniest  sensation  running  riot  through  his 
body,  for  naturally  he  did  not  know  whether 
they  were  armed  and  would  turn  upon  him. 
British  to  the  backbone,  however,  he  coolly 
took  the  twenty  odd  men  under  his  care  and 
piloted  them  toward  the  village  post  office, 
being  presently  joined  by  other  specials,  and 
here  the  prisoners  were  inspected.  Eventually 
the  whole  of  the  crew  were  taken  into  custody 
by  the  military  and  removed  to  certain 
barracks. 

The  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  comman- 
der to  blow  up  his  airship  was  only  partially 
successful,  so  that  when  the  dawn  came 
wondering  spectators  saw  a  tangled  mass  of 
wreckage  close  on  700  feet  long  and  over 
threescore  feet  and  ten  in  diameter.     The  un- 

229 


Thrilling  Deeds 

initiated  would  have  supposed  that  such  a 
wreck  could  prove  of  little  use  to  anyone, 
but  sufficient  was  left  undamaged  to  enable 
the  authorities  to  obtain  a  very  fair  idea  of 
the  construction  of  what  was  undoubtedly  one 
of  Germany's  latest  airships. 

Thus  by  gun-fire  and  aeroplane  had  two 
more  German  raiders  been  accounted  for, 
and,  about  a  week  later — on  October  ist,  to 
be  precise — yet  another  Zeppelin  met  a  flaming 
fate  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Metropolis. 

On  the  night  in  question,  ten  Zeppelins 
crossed  the  East  Coast,  and  one  of  them  which 
had  London  for  her  objective  was  com- 
manded, as  it  was  afterward  discovered,  by 
Commander  Mathy,  a  pilot  who  had  previously 
raided  the  City  of  our  Empire,  and  had 
given  an  account  of  his  experience  to  an 
American  newspaper  man.  Just  about  mid- 
night this  Zeppelin  was  sighted  approaching 
London,  and,  with  searchlights  piercing  the 
skies  and  revealing  her  position  to  the  artillery- 
men below,  the  defences  of  the  Metropolis 
vigorously  opened  fire  upon  her.  Hundreds 
of   thousands   of    people   were   watching   the 

230 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

spectacle,  and  saw  what  they  naturally  did 
not  understand  at  first.  Shells  from  the 
anti-aircraft  guns  were  throwing  up  a  starry 
curtain  of  fire,  through  which  the  Zeppelin 
cither  could  not  pass  or  dared  not  for  fear  of 
what  might  happen.  The  searchlights  were 
evidently  baffling  the  crew  in  her,  and  many 
attempts  were  made  to  escape  the  white  blaze 
of  light  focused  upon  her.  For  what  seemed 
endless  minutes — perhaps  it  was  less  than 
half  an  hour — the  raider  was  held  in  the 
beams ;  then  she  eluded  them  for  a  brief 
while,  during  which  the  spectators  watched 
open-mouthed,  not  knowing  where  she  would 
next  appear.  With  not  a  little  relief  they 
presently  saw  her  again,  caught  by  the  search- 
lights, and  once  more  the  artillery  boomed, 
the  shells  bursting  apparently  in  close  proxi- 
mity to  the  great  envelope. 

And  then,  silence  and  darkness  :  the  search- 
lights were  shut  off,  the  gun-fire  ceased.  The 
people  of  London  and  the  surrounding  district 
held  their  breath.  Recollection  of  what  had 
happened  a  few  seconds  after  such  a  silence 
on  the  occasion  of  the  destruction  of  the  raider 

231 


Thrilling  Deeds 

at  Cuffley  came  to  the  thousands  who  had 
been  in  the  streets  on  that  historic  night,  and 
men,  women,  and  children  waited  with  bated 
breath — expectant,  hopeful. 

They  were  not  disappointed.  Suddenly 
the  intense  darkness  was  broken  by  a  curious 
yellow  light,  which  quickly  developed  into  a 
crimson  blaze,  illuminating  the  country  for 
miles  around. 

A  momentary  hovering  in  mid-air,  and  then 
the  airship,  flaming  from  end  to  end,  began 
to  fall,  those  spectators  who  were  near  enough 
being  able  to  see  the  white  lines  of  her 
aluminium  framework  clear-cut  in  the  reddish 
flame.  Everybody  knew  what  had  happened  : 
somewhere  up  there,  while  they  had  been 
watching  and  waiting  in  breathless  anticipa- 
tion, an  airman  had  been  at  work  in  some 
mysterious  but  effective  way ;  but  it  was  not 
until  some  time  later  that  they  knew  who  the 
aviator  was.  His  name  was  Second-Lieuten- 
ant Wulstan  Joseph  Tempest.  He  had  been 
spending  the  evening  with  some  friends,  and 
had  been  called  away  to  meet  the  invaders. 
He  ascended   10,000  feet   and  waited  in  the 

232 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

air  for  over  two  hours  before  the  ZeppeHn 
appeared.  He  promptly  attacked,  pursuing 
her  until  he  was  within  striking  range.  Then 
he  had  struck,  and  struck  home. 

Immediately  after  the  Zeppelin  caught  fire 
he  had  travelled  the  complete  length  of  her, 
parallel  with  her  all  the  time.  More  than 
once,  in  order  to  avoid  colliding  with  the 
burning  mass  of  his  victim,  he  had  to  nose- 
dive. Eventually  he  landed  in  safety  miles 
away  from  the  place  where  he  had  first  taken 
the  air,  and  was  driven  back  to  his  station  in 
a  motor  to  receive  a  fine  ovation  from  his  com- 
rades.    Later  he  was  awarded  the  D.S.O. 

Because  it  tells,  as  plainly  as  may  be  told, 
the  nature  of  the  experience  of  an  aviator  in 
his  fight  with  a  Zeppelin,  an  airman's  account 
— it  refers  to  the  earlier  days  of  aerial  fighting 
— published  in  the  Fall  Mall  Gazette  may  be 
quoted  here. 

"  The  pilot  of  the  aeroplane  has  an  instinc- 
tive feeling  that  a  Zeppelin  is  somewhere  near 
him.  He  cannot  hear  because  of  the  noise  of  his 
own  engine,  and  he  cannot  see  because  of  the 
intensity  of  the  darkness  all  around  him.     His 

233 


Thrilling  Deeds 

feeling  is  soon  confirmed  when  he  finds  himself 
the  focus  of  two,  three,  four,  or  more  search- 
Hghts,  and  the  anti-aircraft  guns  commence 
to  fire.  This  is  another  deadly  danger  he  has 
to  contend  with :  there  is  as  much  chance, 
sometimes  more,  of  our  own  anti-aircraft 
shells  hitting  him  instead  of  the  raiding 
airship. 

"  By  means  of  his  wireless  key,  however, 
he  is  able  to  communicate  with  his  aerodrome, 
who  immediately  telephone  to  the  guns  to 
cease  fire,  but  during  the  time  that  must 
necessarily  elapse  before  this  comes  to  pass 
he  is  in  very  grave  danger.  More  so  even 
than  the  airship,  for  one  direct  hit  would  not, 
in  all  probability,  be  sufficient  to  bring  down 
an  airship,  but  most  certainly  would  destroy 
a  frail  and  tiny  aeroplane. 

"  The  combat  between  the  aeroplane  and 
the  Zeppelin  might  be  compared  to  that 
between  a  British  destroyer  and  the  German 
Dreadnoughts  in  the  recent  Jutland  battle. 
Dashing  in  with  great  rapidity  and  skill,  the 
tiny  one-gunned  aeroplane  fires  its  broadside, 
then  makes  off  as  fast  as  possible  to  get  out 

234 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

of  range  of  the  comparatively  heavy-armed 
airship.  From  thence  onward  it  develops 
into  a  fight  for  the  upper  position,  for  once 
above  the  Zeppelin  the  aeroplane  pilot  can 
use  his  bombs/  and  the  broad  back  of  the 
gas-bag  offers  a  target  which  can  hardly  be 
missed. 

"  Again,  some  Zeppelins  are  not  armed,  as 
were  the  very  earliest  fighting  craft,  with  a 
machine-gun  above  the  envelope ;  thus  the 
aeroplane  has  the  Zepp  at  his  mercy,  and  is 
out  of  danger  himself.  Should  he  be  unable 
to  climb  above,  the  only  other  vulnerable  spot 
is  the  stern  ;  the  airship  machine-guns  fire  only 
fore  and  amidships,  and  cannot  fire  aft. 

"  In  manoeuvring,  the  aeroplane  has  the 
great  advantage  of  being  remarkably  quick  in 
turning,  climbing,  and  coming  down.  The 
Zeppelin,  again,  is  very  susceptible  to  flame 
and  explosion  of  any  kind  ;  the  gas  in  the 
envelope,  a  mixture  of  hydrogen  and  air,  forms 
an  extremely  explosive  mixture.  The  aero- 
plane, owing  to  the  fabric  of  which  it  is  com- 

^  This  was  the  method  of  attack  followed  by  Warncford 
and  some  other  of  the  earlier  fighters  with  Zeppelins. 

235 


Thrillmg  Deeds 

posed,  and  the  petrol  needed  for  propulsion, 
is  to  a  certain  degree  inflammable,  but  not 
nearly  to  the  same  extent  as  the  airship.  Fcy 
contra,  the  airship  possesses  a  distinct  ad- 
vantage in  that  it  is  able  to  shut  off  its  engines, 
and  to  hover,  which  it  is  impossible  for  an 
aeroplane  to  do.  Again,  in  the  matter  of 
speed  in  a  forward  direction,  and,  for  that 
matter,  backward  also — for  the  Zeppelin's 
engines  are  reversible — the  aeroplane  holds 
the  palm  with  an  average  speed  of  sixty  miles 
per  hour,  to  the  airship's  fifty. 

"  The  combat  finished,  the  aeroplane  pilot 
has  yet  to  make  a  landing,  surely  the  most 
dangerous  and  tricky  manoeuvre  of  the  whole 
fight.  The  difficulties  and  dangers  thus  en- 
countered are  too  obvious  to  need  explana- 
tion, further  than  to  say  that  the  landing  has 
to  be  effected  in  the  dark,  with  only  a  blinding, 
dazzHng  electric  ground-hght  for  guidance." 

Commander  Mathy,  the  pilot  who  met  his 
doom  in  the  raid  of  October  ist,  told  a  re- 
porter, amongst  other  things,  that  he  was  not 
afraid  of  aeroplanes.  "  I  think  I  could  make 
it  interesting  for  them,   unless   there  was  a 

236 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

regular  swarm."  Well,  Commander  Mathy  had 
things  made  interesting  for  him,  and  the  con- 
tinued destruction  of  Zeppelins  when  they 
have  ventured  over  Britain  is  proof  that  those 
who  have  charge  of  the  defences  are  not  sitting 
twiddling  their  thumbs.  No  means  of  solving 
the  problem  have  been  left  untried,  no  pre- 
cautions have  been  neglected,  as  a  batch  of 
raiders  discovered  on  November  27th,  1916, 
after  a  pause  of  some  weeks  in  their 
activities.  On  that  night  a  number  of  air- 
ships approached  the  North-East  Coast,  most 
carefully  avoiding  London,  under  the  impres- 
sion, no  doubt,  that  by  giving  the  Metropolis  a 
wide  berth  they  would  be  outside  the  range  of 
effective  defences. 

They  were  disillusioned,  however,  and  found 
that  not  only  around  London  but  also  in 
other  parts  of  the  country  there  was  danger 
for  raiders. 

Four  of  the  five  airships  which  took  part 
in  the  raid  attacked  the  North-East  Coast, 
dropping  bombs  on  Durham  and  Yorkshire, 
luckily  with  but  little  damage  to  life  and 
property.     In  exactly  the  same  way  as  Lieu- 

237 


Thrilling  Deeds 

tenants  Robinson  and  Tempest  had  attacked 
their  aerial  foes,  one  of  their  comrades  of  the 
Royal  Flying  Corps — Lieutenant  I.  V.  Pyott 
— drove  into  action  with  a  raider  on  that 
November  night.  There  was  a  short  but 
none  the  less  stern  fight  between  the  wasp 
and  the  hawk,  and  then  the  London  scenes 
were  re-enacted :  the  great  airship  caught 
fire,  the  flames  spread  through  its  whole 
length,  and  the  blazing  mass  fell  into  the  sea 
while  the  night  watchers  shouted  themselves 
hoarse. 

Boats  were  hastily  put  out  to  see  if  there 
were  any  survivors,  but  nothing  was  seen  of 
the  destroyed  craft,  not  even  when  morning 
came :  all  that  betokened  the  great  event 
was  a  thick  film  of  oil  upon  the  surface  of  the 
waters. 

While  Lieutenant  Pyott  was  engaged  push- 
ing home  his  attack,  away  down  the  coast 
other  intrepid  airmen  were  busy.  The  fifth 
airship  had  struck  inland  toward  the  Mid- 
lands, where  she  dropped  several  bombs.  The 
raider,  however,  was  destined  not  to  escape. 
As  she  turned  about  and  made  off   for  the 

238 


Raiding  the  Raider 
Our  giant  seaplanes  taking  the  air  to  cut  off  a  Zeppelin's  retreat 


138 


Some  Zeppelin  Strafers 

coast  the  batteries  bombarded  her,  aeroplanes 
pursued  her,  and  she  was  apparently  so 
severely  mauled  that  she  had  to  come  to  a 
standstill  near  the  Norfolk  coast  to  effect 
temporary  repairs.  When  the  grey  fingers 
of  the  dawn  began  to  creep  into  the  eastern 
sky  she  was  plainly  visible,  and  was  noticed 
to  be  travelling  eastward,  at  a  great  height, 
with  several  Royal  Naval  Air  Service  machines 
in  her  wake.  The  fact  that  it  was  growing 
light  gave  the  crew  of  this  Zeppelin  advan- 
tages which  the  raiders  over  London  had  not 
possessed,  for  the  former  could  easily  see 
the  intrepid  attackers  approaching  and  turn 
machine-guns  upon  them.  The  aviators  were 
not  to  be  discouraged,  however,  and  the  people 
lining  the  coast  were  given  an  exhibition  of 
aerial  fighting  at  a  height  of  8000  feet. 

It  was  a  fight  worth  watching,  too.  Down 
below  an  armed  trawler  was  bombarding 
the  discomiited  raider  as  she  tried  to  shake 
off  her  persistent  foes,  who  were  firing  at  her 
as  rapidly  as  possible.  Three  of  the  airmen 
— Lieutenant  Egbert  Cadbury  and  Sub-Lieu- 
tenants E.  L.  Pulling  and  G.  W.  R.  Fane — 

239 


Thrilling  Deeds 

drove  in  as  closely  as  possible,  sweeping  past 
the  Zeppelin's  machine-guns,  rising  above 
her,  swooping  down  and  performing  amazing 
evolutions  around  her,  all  the  time  firing 
vigorously,  and  hitting  her  repeatedly,  until 
at  last  the  giant  envelope  caught  fire,  the 
flames  roared  their  way  along  her  whole  length, 
and  she  went  plunging  into  the  sea. 


240 


CHAPTER  XV 

On  Fire! 

SITTING  in  the  trenches  which  scar  the 
once  fair  fields  of  Flanders,  British 
Tommies  have  seen  the  great  flying 
battle  in  progress  thousands  of  times,  and 
probably  few  of  these  men  of  the  trenches, 
who  live  in  the  hell  of  high  explosive  and 
shrapnel,  would  willingly  change  places  with 
the  bird-men.  One  sight  alone  is  sufficient 
to  make  the  strongest-nerved  watcher  shiver — 
the  sight  of  an  aeroplane  falling  a  flaming 
mass  through  the  air,  carrying,  probably  two 
men,  certainly  one,  to  what  seems  to  be  an 
awful  death. 

Here  is  a  story  of  such  a  spectacle — one 
only  of  hundreds  that  have  been  vouchsafed 
to  men  who  never  want  to  witness  the  thrilling 
drama  again. 

Away    back    in    June    1915    (to    be    exact, 
Friday  the  i8th),  one  of  our  machines,  driven 
by   Second-Lieutenant    W.    H.    Dyke    Acland 
Q  241 


Thrilling  Deeds 

(Royal  Devon  Yeomanry  and  R.F.C.)  accom- 
panied by  an  officer  observer,  was  reconnoit- 
ring over  Poelcappelle  at  a  height  of  4000  feet, 
when  a  large  German  aeroplane  approached, 
and  thundering  in  close  proximity  began  to 
attack.  Now,  that  German  machine  was  no 
adversary  to  be  treated  lightly  :  it  was  double- 
engined,  had  two  propellers  and  a  double 
fuselage,  and  could  work  up  a  speed  which 
enabled  it  to  make  rings  round  our  machine. 
This  it  promptly  did,  loosing  a  hurricane  of 
machine-gun  bullets  as  it  did  so,  although, 
apparently,  without  inflicting  any  damage 
upon  the  British  aeroplane,  thanks  to  the 
brilliant  way  in  which  Lieutenant  Dyke 
Acland  handled  his  mount.  The  '  scrap  ' 
took  place  at  a  range  of  about  200  yards  ; 
and  after  the  Germans  had  thus  fruitlessly 
squandered  their  ammunition.  Dyke  Acland's 
companion,  who  had  been  waiting  for  the 
opportune  moment,  ripped  in  about  fifty 
rounds  from  his  machine-gun,  several  of 
which  apparently  got  home,  for  immediately 
afterward  the  German  machine  began  to  waver 
in  its  headlong  course,  the  roar  of  its  engines 

242 


Oft  Fire  ! 

ceased,  the  aeroplane  gave  a  nasty  tilt,  and 
then  tipped  its  nose  downward.  For  a  sheer 
2000  feet  that  monster  'plane  nose-dived, 
seemingly  out  of  control,  and  Lieutenant 
Acland  and  his  observer  were  not  a  little 
'  bucked '  at  the  thought  that  they  had  so  suc- 
cessfully tackled  their  big  antagonist.  Their 
delight  subsided  somewhat  when  presently 
they  saw  the  German  machine  flatten  out 
somewhere  about  half  a  mile  below  them,  and 
then  begin  to  stagger  along,  flying  slowly  and 
erratically,  evidently  just  able  to  keep  an  even 
keel  for  sufficient  time  to  enable  it  to  get  to 
safety. 

As  the  Britishers  had  a  certain  object  in 
view,  which  was  to  reconnoitre  German 
positions,  they  made  no  attempt  to  finish  off 
their  enemy,  although  it  seemed  a  shame 
to  leave  a  job  uncompleted.  However,  they 
had  done  remarkably  well  to  have  scared  the 
German  away,  and  were  free  to  go  ahead  with 
their  immediate  work,  which  they  promptly 
did. 

But,  alas,  what  the  German  aeroplane  had 
been    unable    to    accomplish,    German    anti- 

243 


Thrillmo-  Deeds 


<b 


aircraft  guns  succeeded  in  doing  ;    for  while 
Lieutenant    Dyke    Acland    was    steering    his 
machine,  a  big  shell  whoofed  up  into  the  air, 
burst   with   a  nasty  crash,   and  sent    out    a 
multitude  of  singing  bullets  which  tore  holes 
in  the  planes  and  perforated  the  petrol  tank. 
As  the  job  was  almost  finished,  the  airmen 
decided  that,  in  view  of  the  precious  informa- 
tion they  had  obtained,  it  was  better  to  wing 
homeward  than  to  wait   for  another  of  those 
unpleasant  messengers  of  death.     They  were, 
moreover,  in  an  exceedingly  critical  condition, 
because    the   petrol    leaking    from    the    tank 
had   caught   fire.     In   such   circumstances,   it 
does  not  take  long   for   control  wires  to  be 
burnt  away  or  for  the  tail  of  the  machine  to  be 
caught  by  the  flames.     The  consequences  were 
too  awful  to  contemplate  ;    and  men  who  had 
seen  aeroplanes  slip  through  space  like  burning 
torches  had  no  pressing  desire  to  be  the  occu- 
pants of  a  machine  presenting  such  a  spectacle 
to  a  jubilant  enemy. 

So  Lieutenant  Acland  promptly  stood  his 
machine  on  its  nose  and  dived  for  the  earth. 
The  result   was   that   the   petrol,   instead   of 

244 


On  Fire  ! 

running  back  toward  the  engine,  began  to 
run  down  the  front  of  the  body,  the  roaring 
lire  gathering  in  intensity  as  the  machine 
shpped  through  space,  so  that  in  a  very 
few  seconds  the  aeroplane  was  enveloped  in 
flames. 

From  below  it  must  have  been  a  thrilling 
spectacle.  To  those  in  the  machine  it  was  a 
horrifying  experience.  The  fire  hcked  round 
their  legs,  burning  them  badly ;  the  heat 
cracked  the  glass  in  the  pilot's  goggles  and 
burnt  away  the  surrounding  fabric ;  but, 
although  suffering  severely,  the  Lieutenant 
stuck  to  his  seat,  resisting,  as  did  his  observer, 
the  temptation  to  which  some  men  have 
succumbed  :  to  risk  all  in  a  leap  from  what 
might  easily  prove  to  be  a  cremating  furnace  ! 
Down,  down,  the  machine  dropped,  not 
erraticall3^  but  steadily  in  answer  to  the 
touch  of  the  cool-headed  yet  scorching  pilot  ; 
while  to  add  to  the  terrors  of  the  moment,  the 
rounds  of  ammunition  which  had  not  been 
pumped  into  the  big  German  aeroplane  went 
off  in  a  rattle,  accompanied  by  the  popping  of 
the  cartridges  in  the  pilot's  revolver  ! 

245 


Thrilling  Deeds 

To  those  who  watched,  and  to  those  who 
were  watched,  it  seemed  as  though  the  down- 
ward journey  would  never  end,  or,  if  it  did, 
that  the  passengers  would  be  incinerated. 
Long  before  the  machine  reached  the  ground 
a  good  part  of  its  framework  was  burnt,  and 
the  remainder  was  blazing ;  at  any  second 
the  tail  might  simply  drop  off.  The  blades 
of  the  propeller,  made  of  hard  wood,  were 
"so  much  burnt  that  the  propeller  ceased  to 
revolve  in  the  rush  of  air." 

Mother  Earth  was  reached  at  long  last,  a 
perfect  landing  was  made,  and  the  aviators, 
scarcely  believing  in  their  good  fortune,  leaped 
out  of  the  furnace  :  as  they  did  so,  the  tail  of 
the  machine  dropped  off ;  while  Lieutenant 
Dyke  Acland,  as  though  he  had  not  suffered 
sufficiently  already,  tripped  over  a  wire  stay, 
fell,  and  sprained  his  knee  !  Fortunately  he 
had  been  able,  by  his  plucky  coolness,  to  bring 
his  wrecked  machine  into  the  British  lines  ; 
otherwise,  both  he  and  his  observer  would 
have  been  taken  prisoner.  As  it  was,  the 
German  guns  out  yonder  blazed  away  at  them 
with  shrapnel  while  willing  hands  were  col- 

246 


On  Fire  ! 

lecting  those  parts  of  the  machine  which  could 
be  utilized  again. 

Badly  burnt  as  he  was  (although  he  had 
fortunately  not  received  any  fatal  injury) 
Lieutenant  Dyke  Acland,  before  he  would  go 
into  hospital,  calmly  sat  down  and  wrote  out 
his  report,  winding  up  with  a  brief  account  of 
the  flaming  descent,  and  summing  up  his 
impressions  in  the  laconic  sentence:  "The 
whole  of  the  nacelle  seemed  to  be  in  flames." 
Then,  because  it  might  be  needed  by  some 
keeper  of  the  records,  he  gave  geographical 
details  of  the  spot  where  he  had  landed ! 

For  his  magnificent  courage  and  devotion 
to  duty,  Lieutenant  Dyke  Acland  had  bestowed 
upon  him  the  Order  of  St  George  by  the  Tsar 
of  Russia. 


247 


CHAPTER  XVI 

The  Battle  of  Seventy  Aeroplanes 

WHEN,  before  the  war,  artistic  pro- 
phets dared  to  depict  squadrons 
of  aeroplanes  fighting  in  mid-air, 
most  of  us  poured  scorn  on  their  predictions. 
We  were  most  of  us  content  to  beUeve  that 
there  might,  *  in  the  next  war,'  be  occasional 
duels  between  two  rival  machines  with  the 
whole  space  of  the  heavens  to  manoeuvre  in  ; 
but  the  greater  thing  was  declared  to  be 
utterly  impossible,  because,  it  was  explained, 
men  scarcely  knew  how  to  handle  an  aeroplane 
in  a  'joy  trip,'  let  alone  pilot  one  in  the  midst 
of  dozens  of  other  machines  with  their  guns 
all  firing  as  rapidly  as  their  marksmen  could 
feed  them  with  cartridges.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  many  months  of  the  Great  War  had  passed 
before  the  rival  aerial  fleets  had  arrived  at  a 
degree  of  efficiency  to  warrant  such  tactics  ; 
but  those  who  believed  in  the  possibilities  of 
the  new  fighting  arm  had  little  doubt  that 

248 


The  Battle  of  Seventy  Aeroplanes 

the  day  would  come  when,  even  as  squadrons 
of  cruisers  can  manceuvre  in  the  waters,  so 
aeroplanes  would  go  forth  in  squadrons  and 
engage  their  rivals. 

Stage  by  stage,  the  new  method  of  warfare 
evolved  on  experimental  lines.  The  single 
scouter  took  to  itself  a  companion  ;  the  two 
grew  into  several,  some  of  them  to  act  merely 
as  scouts,  but  others  battle-planes,  designed 
and  armed  to  fight  the  strongest  hostile 
machines  ;  until,  in  November  1916 — nearly 
twenty-eight  months  after  the  opening  of  the 
Great  War — there  came  the  first  great  crash 
between  rival  air-squadrons  in  large  force. 

The  Allies  had  won  the  ascendancy  of  the 
air,  and  their  airmen  were  incessantly  winging 
their  way  over  the  German  lines,  scouting, 
observing,  bombing,  fighting,  patrolling  and 
driving  back  the  would-be  aerial  raiders.  The 
Germans,  utterly  outclassed,  scarcely  dared 
take  the  air  for  some  time  ;  and  then  came  a 
renewal  of  activity  on  their  part.  The  Somme 
battle  had  been  fought  and  won,  and  away  in 
the  rear  the  Germans  were  busy  making  fresh 
fortifications  which  were,  so  they  boasted,  to 

249 


Thrilliitg  Deeds 

hold  up  any  further  '  push  '  that  the  Allies 
might  try  to  make.  Naturally,  the  German 
soldiers  labouring  at  their  gigantic  task — the 
like  of  which  had  never  been  undertaken  in 
warfare  before — were  not  allowed  much  peace. 
Allied  aeroplanes  constantly  sped  overhead, 
bombing  whatever  was  worth  bombing,  and 
at  last  this  incessant  annoyance  roused  the 
Germans  to  action.  Once  again  their  airmen 
went  aloft,  in  force  this  time,  to  try  to  put  an 
end  to  the  pestering  of  their  foes. 

The  crash  came  on  November  9th,  and  it 
came  over  the  German  lines,  in  the  direction 
of  Vaulx-Vraucourt,  to  the  north-east  of 
Bapaume,  that  strategically  important  point 
in  the  curved  German  front.  With  the 
military  depots  at  Vaulx-Vraucourt  as  their 
objective,  a  number  of  our  bombing  machines, 
escorted  by  several  battle-planes,  totalling 
thirty  in  all,  set  off  in  a  formation  which  had 
been  proved  effective,  some  flying  higher  than 
the  others  and  with  fighting  'planes  covering 
the  bombers  at  all  points  to  prevent  enemy 
machines  from  attacking  the  less  formidable 
'planes. 

250 


Tlic  Battle  of  Seventy  Aeroplanes 

They  had  gone  some  distance,  and  were 
just  outside  Vaulx  -  Vraucourt,  when  the 
escort  sighted  a  squadron  of  German  fighting 
machines  already  in  the  air.  They  too  were  in 
formation  for  attack,  and  were,  moreover,  in 
superior  numbers,  there  being  probably  forty 
of  them.  They  were  barring  the  way  to 
the  place  where  the  bombers  were  to  deposit 
their  devastating  loads.  That  being  so,  the 
tricolour  -  marked  battle  -  planes  let  their 
engines  all  out  and  swept  forward  to  the 
combat,  which  they  were  determined  should 
take  place  as  near  their  objective  as  possible, 
so  that  when  it  was  all  over  the  bomb-carriers 
would  not  have  far  to  go  to  accomplish  their 
task. 

There  was  a  strong  westerly  wind  blowing 
at  the  time,  which  aided  the  Allies  in  the  be- 
ginning, but  was  no  friend  to  some  later  on  ; 
for  those  of  our  machines  which  were  winged 
during  the  conflict  were  carried  in  their  de- 
scent farther  over  the  German  positions. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  aerial  combats 
are  matters  of  seconds  almost.  There  is  no 
time    for    leisurely    decision,    leisurely    move- 

251 


Thrilling  Deeds 

ments  ;  everything  is  done,  if  it  is  done  at  all, 
at  the  rush  ;  and  in  that  fashion  the  raiding 
machines  went  to  meet  their  foes. 

As  soon  as  they  judged  they  were  in  range, 
each  pilot  engaged  the  enemy  which  he  had 
selected — some  of  them,  of  course,  had  more 
than  one  to  contend  against  —  and  there 
followed  such  a  battle  royal  as  the  world  had 
never  known  before. 

Such  a  large  number  of  aeroplanes,  of  various 
types,  engaged  in  a  fight  to  the  death  at  an 
average  height  of  5000  feet,  makes  an  im- 
pressive sight.  To  those  who  are  watching 
below,  some  look  Hke  balls  of  gold  as  the  sun 
catches  them  ;  others,  like  big,  black  birds 
of  prey  swooping  to  the  attack  of  smaller  fry, 
which  latter,  speedier  than  the  birds  of  the 
air,  roar  defiantly  as  they  drive  to  an  encounter 
which  may  spell  destruction.  Neither  the 
artist's  brush  nor  the  writer's  pen  can  paint 
that  picture  as  it  should  be  painted,  and  the 
imagination  of  the  man  who  has  not  looked 
upon  such  a  scene  reels  at  the  very  idea  of  it. 

Those  of  our  machines  which  were  above 
the  Germans  swooped  down  upon  them,  firing 

252 


Tlie  Battle  of  Scz^enty  Aeroplanes 

as  they  went,  while  the  Teutons,  with  the 
wicked-looking  muzzles  of  their  machine-guns 
pointing  upward,  spat  hundreds  of  bullets 
at  them  as  they  came.  It  is  impossible  to 
follow  in  detail  the  twenty  minutes'  fight, 
seeing  that  it  was  mostly  a  series  of  isolated 
actions — one  can  but  give  a  general  idea  of 
it.  Our  two-gunned  machines  simultaneously 
tackled  circling  Germans,  dived  down  like 
hawks,  spitting  fire  as  they  went,  slithered,  as 
it  were,  down  over  the  planes  of  German 
machines  as  the  latter  banked  and  turned 
and  tried  to  slip  away  underneath  to  come  up 
behind  their  down-sweeping  foes.  How  many 
men  looped  the  loop  that  day  in  order  to  save 
their  lives  or  in  order  to  come  round  to  position 
for  effective  attack  none  can  say.  As  fast  as 
one  German  'plane  was  driven  off  and  down, 
another  would  roar  to  the  attack  ;  and  the 
noise  of  the  battle  was  as  the  noise  of  an  en- 
gineering shop  in  which  all  the  plant  had  run 
out  of  gear ! 

Think  of  it  :  seventy  engines  droning  madly 
— seventy  propellers  humming  till  the  air 
seems  filled  with  super-bees — while  scores  of 

253 


Thrilling  Deeds 

machine-guns,  pitched,  as  it  were,  in  different 
keys,  are  rattUng  out  their  discordant  songs 
of  hate  !  And  picture  it  :  great  winging  birds 
of  man's  make  darting  and  whirHng  in  majes- 
tic swoops,  circHng  with  graceful  ease — while 
ever  and  anon  one  goes  tumbling  to  earth 
like  a  shot  pheasant — and,  still  more  awful 
sight,  shot-drilled  tanks  let  their  petrol  flow 
and  a  machine  catches  fire  and  dives  down  a 
flaming  mass,  as  though  some  fabled  monster 
striving  to  storm  the  gates  of  Heaven  had  been 
struck  by  the  fire  of  the  gods  ! 

In  the  midst  of  that  battle  of  the  kings  of 
the  air,  many  were  the  thrilling  escapes 
from  sudden  death.  Here,  for  instance,  is  a 
biplane  rushing  toward  an  enemy  travelling 
at  terrific  speed  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  it 
is  a  moment  filled  with  horrific  possibihties, 
not  merely  because  both  machines  have  a 
grim-faced  man  sitting  with  his  hand  clutch- 
ing the  trigger  of  a  gun  which  can  spit  out 
hundreds  of  deaths  a  minute,  but  because 
the  difference  of  a  fraction  of  an  inch  in  the 
downward  push  or  the  upward  pull  of  a  '  joy- 
stick/ or  the  slightest  overthrust  to  right  or 

254 


Tlie  Battle  of  Seventy  Aeroplanes 

left,  may  result  in  a  splintering,  pounding 
crash  as  the  two  machines  meet  in  a  collision 
which  will  end  in  both  going  headlong  to 
the  earth  below.  Another  aeroplane,  diving 
to  the  attack,  may — who  knows  ? — be  caught 
between  the  on-rushing  machines,  and  the 
disaster  be  more  terrible  still.  The  margin 
between  life  and  death  is  extremely  small  in 
such  circumstances,  and  a  man  needs  a  cool 
head  and  a  quick  brain  ! 

Not  merely  one  storm  of  the  death-hail, 
but  scores,  were  breaking  in  fury,  and  machines 
not  immediately  engaged  caught  some  of  the 
bullets  as  they  missed  their  real  objective  and 
went  speeding  through  the  air.  Stray  bullets 
were  indeed  a  danger  in  that  battle,  if  ever 
they  were  !  And  yet,  the  airmen  did  not 
worry  about  them  :  each  man  sought  his 
opponent  and  fought  him  until  he  had  driven 
him  off,  or  perhaps,  until  some  other  enemy 
swooped  for  his  tail  from  above  or,  coming  up 
below,  raked  the  full  length  of  his  machine 
with  bullets. 

A  very  whirlwind  of  a  fight  !  Here  and 
there  machines  darted  to  and  fro,  first  tackling 

255 


Thrilling  Deeds 

this  foe  and  then  that,  banking  with  startHng 
suddenness  and  amazing  skill,  turning  in 
apparent  frenzied  haste  to  out-manceuvre  a 
rival,  only  to  come  up  against  yet  another 
who  must  be  tackled  before  the  enemy  who 
had  been  given  the  slip  could  come  up  again  ! 

In  such  fashion  did  this  battle  of  the  air 
rage  ;  but  at  last  it  was  over,  and  those  of 
the  Germans  who  had  their  machines  under 
control  were  pelting  for  safety,  leaving  the 
conquerors  of  the  air  to  go  about  their  busi- 
ness. No  fewer  than  six  of  the  enemy 
machines  had  been  driven  down,  most  of 
them  out  of  control,  and  in  one  at  least  the 
pilot  was  sagging  limp  and  lifeless  in  his  seat ; 
while  of  those  others  which  flew  away,  their 
formation  utterly  broken,  who  can  say  how 
many  were  able  again  to  take  the  air,  or  who 
knows  how  many  of  their  crew  went  back  un- 
injured ?  These  things  are  hidden  somewhere 
in  the  records  of  the  German  Flying  Corps,  grim 
reminders  of  the  first  great  aerial  battle. 

As  for  our  own  casualties,  four  machines 
were  lost  to  us,  because,  being  winged,  and 
at  the  mercy  of  the  westerly  wind,  they  had 

256 


The  Battle  of  Seventy  Ae^^'oplanes 

to  descend  at  the  nearest  spot  and  were 
captured  by  the  Germans.  One  of  the  re- 
turning aeroplanes  was  the  funeral  chariot  of 
a  dead  observer,  and  two  others  were  the 
ambulances  of  their  pilots,  who,  wounded 
though  they  were,  piloted  their  machines 
against  the  driving  wind,  bringing  them 
eventually  to  their  desired  haven.  But  the 
victorious  warriors  did  not  return  home  until 
they  had  sailed  on  past  the  scene  of  their 
triumph,  and  their  bombers  had  planted  their 
explosives  on  the  munition  dumps  and  supply- 
depots  at  Vaulx-Vraucourt.  Thus  the  enemy's 
attempt  to  drive  off  the  attackers  had  proved 
a  costly  failure. 


B  257 


CHAPTER  XVII 

On  Patrol 

A  WIND  that  whistled  between  the 
planes,  strummed  like  a  harper 
upon  struts  and  wiring,  and  drove 
sheets  of  water  into  the  aviator,  as  he  sped 
in  the  teeth  of  the  storm — such  was  the 
accompaniment  to  one  of  the  fine  feats  of 
Captain  R.  H.  G.  Neville  (Duke  of  Cornwall's 
Light  Infantry  and  R.F.C.),  a  member  of 
the  air  patrol  between  British  and  enemy- 
trenches. 

The  Captain's  work  was  to  scare  off  any 
enemy  machines,  or,  if  they  were  not  to  be 
scared  off,  then  to  fight  them  off ;  in  any  case, 
they  were  not  to  be  permitted  to  get  behind 
the  British  lines  and  fix  prying  eyes  upon 
what  was  being  done  there. 

On  this  particular  day  in  the  latter  part  of 
1916,  Captain  Neville,  who  was  one  of  our 
most  skilful  pilots,  found  his  task  exceedingly 
difficult.     To    remain   up   in    such    a   stormy 

258 


On  Patrol 

wind  was  in  itself  no  easy  achievement :  add 
to  that  the  constant  vigil  necessary  in  case 
some  daring  foe  should  manage  to  slip  past  the 
patrol,  and  you  have  all  the  elements  of  a 
most  exciting  experience  !  Despite  the  fact 
that  he  was  wrapped  up  to  the  very  top  of  his 
head,  with  only  his  eyes  showing  through  his 
goggles.  Captain  Neville  was  by  no  means 
so  comfortable  physically  as  he  could  wish  ; 
and  without  doubt  the  lonely,  uninteresting 
patrol  was  just  a  little  monotonous — until  the 
droning  of  the  engine,  striving,  as  it  were,  to 
outdo  the  noise  of  the  storm,  was  broken 
by  what  seemed  to  be  a  hurricane  of  sound. 
A  quick  glance  showed  Captain  Neville  some- 
thing which  almost  took  away  his  breath  : 
plunging  out  of  the  storm  was  a  big  enemy 
'plane,  which  had  succeeded  in  getting  quite 
close  before  being  seen. 

For  a  moment  it  seemed  to  Captain  Neville 
that  the  end  of  all  things  had  come,  because 
when  he  sighted  the  enemy  the  two  machines 
were  so  close  that  it  appeared  impossible  to 
avoid  a  collision,  and  the  strength  of  the 
storm    caused    the   Captain  to  fear  that  his 

259 


Thrilling  Deeds 

machine  might  not  answer  quickly  enough 
to  the  touch  on  the  levers. 

Captain  Neville  gave  his  controls  a  jerk 
which  made  the  aeroplane  shiver  from  end 
to  end ;  the  machine  banked  steeply,  and 
standing  at  a  dangerous  angle,  drove  round 
— and  as  it  did  so,  the  enemy  aeroplane  swept 
by,  the  planes  of  it  barely  missing  the  British 
machine. 

And  then,  before  his  opponent  could  grasp 
what  was  in  the  mind  of  the  Britisher,  the 
latter  had  completed  the  circle  and,  coming 
back,  was  opening  out  at  the  enemy  machine. 
Captain  Neville  had  the  advantage  of  position, 
and  raked  the  foe  fore  and  aft  so  plentifully 
and  with  such  accuracy  that  his  opponent, 
finding  he  had  entirely  lost  the  advantage  of 
surprise,  turned  and,  giving  up  all  hope  of 
crossing  the  British  lines,  made  off  toward 
his  own. 

Then  began  a  stern  chase.  Captain  Neville, 
when  he  saw  the  enemy  turn  tail,  realized  that 
he  was  probably  suffering  badly  from  *  cold 
feet,'  and  he  resolved  to  pursue  him  to  the 
bitter  end.     Out  and  away  from  the  British 

260 


On  Patrol 

lines,  the  enemy  tore  through  the  rain  ;  after 
him  went  the  Captain,  hanging  grimly  just 
behind  his  tail,  like  some  vengeful  bird 
relentless  in  pursuit  of  a  monster  foe.  Show- 
ing grey  through  the  driving  rain,  the  earth 
seemed  to  be  receding  at  a  terrific  rate. 
Although  he  could  see  but  little,  Captain 
Neville  was  quickly  notified  when  he  was  over 
the  German  lines  ;  for  the  appearance  of  the 
two  machines  scudding  along,  the  aeroplane 
marked  with  the  tricoloured  target  chasing 
the  one  with  the  black  cross,  showed  the  men 
at  the  '  Archies  '  that  one  of  their  own  kin 
was  in  danger.  They  immediately  opened 
fire  at  the  British  machine,  and  the  rat-tat- 
tatting  of  Captain  Neville's  Lewis  gun  was 
drowned  by  the  crash  of  bursting  shells. 

In  spite  of  the  shells  the  Captain  still  held 
on — held  on  like  grim  death  ;  and  though 
he  tried  every  device,  the  enemy  could  not 
shake  him  off.  Captain  Neville  was  running  a 
dreadful  gauntlet  of  fire,  and  many  a  gun 
which  had  almost  found  the  ever-changing 
range,  narrowly  missed  bringing  the  chase  to 
a  sudden  end.     The  enemy  fled  over  batteries 

261 


Thrilling  Deeds 

with  whose  position  he  was  conversant,  in 
the  hope  that  the  pursuer  might  be  hit  and 
brought  down  in  flames ;  but  the  Britisher 
flinched  from  nothing,  and  seemed  to  be  in- 
vulnerable !  On  and  on  through  the  never- 
ceasing  storm,  far  over  the  German  lines, 
until  at  last  Captain  Neville  realized  that  his 
quarry  was  gliding  for  earth.  That  meant 
one  of  several  things :  the  enemy's  petrol  had 
given  out ;  or  perhaps  he  was  nearing  his 
home  aerodrome  ;  or  again,  it  might  be  that 
he  was  utterly  scared  and  was  going  down, 
taking  all  chance  where  he  landed. 

As  the  scenery  below  grew  more  distinct, 
Captain  Neville  saw  that  the  second  of  these 
conjectures  was  the  correct  one  ;  for  presently 
there  loomed  the  hangars  of  an  aerodrome, 
toward  which  the  foe  was  frantically  making. 
The  British  pilot  now  called  upon  his  engine 
for  every  ounce  of  power,  as  he  was  determined 
to  bring  his  quarry  to  bay  ;  and  after  a  few 
anxious  moments  caused  by  the  guns  below, 
he  succeeded  in  doing  so.  He  went  into  the 
attack  with  a  vehemence  that  startled  the 
German,  who,  finding  that  at  last  he  must 

262 


On  Patrol 

fight,  replied  ineffectually  to  the  fire  of  his 
rival ;  and  eventually  Captain  Neville,  by  a 
sharp  manoeuvre,  obtained  the  advantage  of 
position,  from  which  he  emptied  a  belt  of 
cartridges  into  his  opponent,  whose,  machine 
was  so  badly  mauled  that  it  began  to  drop. 
The  Captain,  following  it  down  as  far  as  it  was 
discreet  to  do,  had  the  gratification  of  seeing  it 
crash  to  earth,  half  a  mile  from  its  aerodrome. 
The  chase  had  not  been  in  vain,  and  for 
this  and  much  other  fine  work  on  patrol. 
Captain  Neville  received  his  Military  Cross. 

Here  is  a  brief  story,  but  one  which  con- 
tains heroism  and  drama  as  full-blooded  as 
many  a  longer  one. 

Captain  Dixon  (Yorks  LT.  and  R.F.C.), 
scouring  the  air  on  what  may  be  called  offensive 
patrol,  adopted  tactics  with  which  he  com- 
pletely hoodwinked  a  certain  German  airman 
who  fell  into  a  most  distressing  trap.  The  gallant 
Captain,  whose  task  was  to  keep  the  enemy 
from  getting  over  the  British  lines,  instead  of 
going  for  this  particular  Hun  in  the  regular 
British  fashion  of  pressing  home  a  stiff  attack, 

263 


Thrilling  Deeds 

cunningly  led  that  German  on  a  wild-goose 
chase  through  the  skies,  behaving  generally 
in  such  a  manner  that  Herr  Hun  firmly  be- 
lieved that  his  antagonist  was  scarcely  worthy 
of  his  mettle  ;  yet,  every  British  bird  bagged 
was  one  less  to  annoy  the  '  brass  hats  '  in  the 
rear  of  the  German  lines.  Therefore,  the 
German  swooped  upon  Captain  Dixon,  and 
showering  his  bullets  all  about  the  machine, 
fully  expected  to  see  the  tricolour-marked 
'plane  go  hurtling  to  the  ground.  But  a  far 
different  thing  from  that  happened. 

Captain  Dixon,  with  the  knowledge  that  a 
couple  of  other  British  machines  were  up 
after  the  Teuton,  had  deliberately  turned 
himself  into  a  decoy ;  and  all  his  strange 
antics — his  fighting  and  flying  away,  his 
apparent  helplessness  and  his  evident  nervous- 
ness, which  made  the  German  sure  of  him — 
had  been  most  admirable  fooling,  deliberately 
designed  to  lead  the  enemy  on,  distract  his 
attention,  and  allow  the  two  other  'planes  to 
get  well  above  without  being  seen. 

The  design  succeeded  beyond  the  Captain's 
hopes.      The   British   'planes,   tiny  specks  in 

264 


On  Patrol 

the  distance,  mounted  higher  and  higher,  and 
through  their  binoculars  the  occupants  could 
just  see  the  chase  taking  place.  Up  and  up, 
and  still  up  they  soared,  till  they  were  lost  in 
the  void — and  never  an  inkling  did  the  Teuton 
have  of  the  swift  destruction  awaiting  him. 

All  his  attention  was  taken  up  by  the  foe 
who  was  so  hopelessly  out-matched  in  every 
way ;  never  was  man  so  surprised  as  he 
when,  as  though  from  nowhere,  there  came 
two  smothering  storms  of  shot  which  tore 
through  fuselage  and  planes  and — worse  than 
all — struck  his  engine  and  petrol  tank,  so  that 
he  went  spinning  down. 

And,  as  his  rival  fell.  Captain  Dixon's 
machine  performed  queer  antics  in  the  air  to 
celebrate  the  triumph,  in  the  which  there 
presently  joined  the  two  victorious  aeroplanes 
which  he  had  so  cunningly  assisted. 

Second-Lieutenant  H.  S.  Shield,  R.F.C., 
won  his  Military  Cross  on  September  13th, 
1915,  by  attacking  a  German  Albatross  when 
flying  over  Bois-de-Biez.  He  was  10,000  feet 
up,  when  his  observer.  Corporal  T.  Bennett, 

265 


Thrilling  Deeds 

sighted  the  Albatross  flying  some  3000  feet 
below.  Losing  no  time,  the  British  machine 
dived  to  the  attack.  As  it  dropped,  the 
*  Archies '  were  crashing  furiously,  and  the 
machine  seemed  to  be  slipping  through  a  maze 
of  bursting  shells,  which  fortunately  did  no 
damage,  so  that  Lieutenant  Shield  was  able  to 
get  into  contact  with  the  Albatross,  a  biplane 
whose  Mercedes  engine  could  drive  her  along 
at  a  terrific  pace  and  whose  machine-gun  was 
mounted  in  such  a  way  that  it  could  be  brought 
into  action  at  almost  any  angle.  "  Very  con- 
veniently mounted,"  the  official  report  says  of 
that  gun,  and  it  called  for  considerable  skill 
on  the  part  of  Lieutenant  Shield  to  manoeuvre 
his  machine  so  that  Corporal  Bennett  could 
attack  with  the  minimum  of  risk  from  the 
stream  of  bullets  which  the  German  gunner 
was  pouring  in.  The  British  machine  swept 
down,  then  circled  to  the  assault.  The  German 
sailed  on,  but  the  Britishers  were  relentless, 
hanging  on  to  the  cross-marked  tail  and 
splattering  their  shots  upon  the  body  of  the 
Albatross,  and  trying  to  hit  the  engine,  which 
was  almost  completely  covered  in. 

266 


07t  Patrol 

Not  the  least  part  of  Lieutenant  Shield's 
work  lay  in  steering  his  machine  so  that  the 
Albatross  should  serve  as  a  protection  from 
the  German  anti-aircraft  guns,  and  in  evading 
tricks  of  the  Albatross  to  lure  him  to  posi- 
tions where  the  '  Archies  '  could  get  him.  The 
Lewis  gun  chattered  away,  the  bullets  '  pinked ' 
all  about  the  Albatross,  dotted  its  wings  with 
holes,  and — best  of  all — struck  the  machine 
in  a  vital  part.  Of  a  sudden.  Corporal  Bennett 
saw  it  make  a  dramatic  side-slip,  saw  its 
pilot  endeavour  to  right  it  before  that  fatal 
second  came  when  worse  should  befall ;  and 
then,  as  all  the  German's  efforts  failed,  the 
Albatross  tilted  up  its  tail,  stood  on  its  nose — 
and  dived  through  7000  feet,  crashing  to  earth 
inside  the  British  lines  ! 

Captain  Leslie  R.  Aizlcwood  (Yorkshire  and 
Lancashire  Rifles,  attached  to  R.F.C.)  swept 
along  on  his  aerial  duties  between  the  German 
and  British  lines,  with  shell-holed  '  No  Man's 
Land '  scudding  beneath  him,  the  boom  of 
far-off  guns  trembling  in  the  air  and  '  woolly 
bears  '  breaking  into  fantastic  shapes  as  the 

267 


Thrilling  Deeds 

'  Archies  '  barked  angrily.  He  was  on  patrol 
work,  which  called  for  eyes  everywhere,  lest 
out  of  the  blue  depths  enemy  machines 
should  suddenly  swoop  and  effect  his  destruc- 
tion, or  endeavour  to  slip  past  him  and  fly 
over  our  lines  to  spot  certain  things  which  the 
High  Command  desired  to  keep  from  the  foe. 

For  a  while  the  Captain  saw  nothing  out 
of  the  ordinary,  heard  nothing  more  ominous 
than  the  roar  of  his  engine  and  the  muffled 
thunder  of  the  opposing  artillery,  then  there 
abruptly  appeared,  as  it  were  from  nowhere, 
five  machines,  heading  directly  for  the  British 
lines.  Their  appearance  was  the  signal  for 
Captain  Aizlewood  to  pull  his  *  joy-stick,* 
manipulate  his  elevators,  and  so  drive  his 
machine  higher  than  the  oncoming  aeroplanes, 
on  whose  wings  were  clearly  marked  the  black 
crosses  of  the  Hun.  Up  and  up  he  went, 
while  the  Germans  winged  forward  and  in  due 
course  swept  under  the  watchful  pilot,  whose 
idea  had  been  to  get  between  the  Germans 
and  their  lines,  and  drive  them  back.  With 
his  Lewis  gun  ready,  Captain  Aizlewood  was 
waiting  for  them,  and  with  his  engine  going 

268 


On  Patrol 

all  out,  he  dived  at  an  appalling  speed  at 
one  of  the  foes. 

Resisting  the  temptation  to  fire  as  he  dropped, 
Captain  Aizlewood,  in  order  to  make  sure  of 
his  victim,  held  his  fire  until  he  was  within  so 
short  a  distance  as  twenty  yards  ;  then  he 
let  his  Lewis  gun  spit  its  vicious  rain  of  bullets, 
sweeping  the  German  machine  from  tip  to 
tip,  plugging  holes  here  and  there,  snapping 
contact  wires,  and  damaging  the  aeroplane 
so  effectually  that  its  pilot  lost  control.  The 
machine  tilted  and  side-slipped,  and  then 
began  to  nose-dive — the  beginning  of  the  end 
of  another  enemy. 

But  the  tale  is  not  finished.  That  down- 
ward sweep  to  such  close  quarters,  and  the 
amazing  success  of  the  firing,  held  elements 
of  danger  for  Captain  Aizlewood,  who — so 
much  is  aerial  fighting  a  matter  of  seconds — 
could  not  flatten  out  quickly  enough  to  soar 
triumphantly  over  the  now  helpless  enemy 
but  went  plunging  down  toward  it.  A  breath- 
less moment  indeed  !  It  is  easy  to  imagine 
the  cool-headed  Captain  manipulating  the 
levers  of  fate  and  the  wires  of  life  and  death 

269 


Thrilling  Deeds 

in  the  hope  of  flattening  out  before  the  coming 
of  what  might  be  a  fatal  coUision.  But  it  was 
not  to  be  :  the  British  machine  sped  through 
the  short  space  intervening,  its  wildly  revolv- 
ing propeller  caught  in  the  enemy  aeroplane, 
there  was  a  ripping  and  tearing,  a  deafening, 
maddening  roar  of  engines,  something  went 
flying  into  space — it  was  part  of  Aizlewood's 
propeller — and  then,  the  astonished  pilot  found 
his  machine  free  from  that  of  his  victim,  and 
the  latter  went  on  its  way  to  destruction. 

It  was  an  unenviable  plight  in  which  the 
British  aviator  now  found  himself.  His  pro- 
peller was  broken,  his  machine  had  received 
considerable  mauling  in  that  terrific  mid-air 
collision,  and  somewhere  in  the  blue  were  four 
other  German  airmen  who  would  jump  at 
the  chance  of  tackling  what  they  would  con- 
sider a  lame  duck.  Captain  Aizlewood,  his  head 
clear  as  ever,  tested  his  machine  as  best  he 
could,  found  that  it  was  not  altogether  out  of 
control,  although  very  nearly  so,  and  with  the 
British  lines  in  front  of  and  below  him,  the  airman 
headed  for  the  ground.  It  was  a  descent  perilous 
enough  to  try  the  strongest  nerves  ;    and  yet, 

270 


On  Patrol 

with  a  machine  that  would  not  readily  answer 
to  touch,  and  that  indeed  might  at  any  moment 
refuse  to  answer  at  all  and  so  send  him  nose- 
diving to  death,  he  swept  toward  the  up- 
rushing  ground — and  made  a  safe  landing  ! 

"For  conspicuous  gallantry  and  skill,"  began 
the  official  paragraph  which  announced  the 
award  of  the  Military  Cross  to  the  intrepid 
aviator. 


271 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Against  Great  Odds 

THE  way  in  which  our  airmen  won 
the  ascendancy  of  the  air  was  char- 
acteristic of  the  Briton.  It  mattered 
not  how  many  hostile  machines  might  be 
barring  the  way  to  an  objective,  the  British 
machine  would  drive  in  among  them  and 
break  up  their  formation,  and  in  many 
cases  send  some  of  their  number  crashing 
down  to  the  ground.  Time  and  time  again 
the  reports  of  the  Flying  Services  contained 
short  paragraphs  stating  in  cold  official 
language  that  "  Lieutenant  A.  attacked  a 
flight  of  ten  enemy  aeroplanes,  completely 
breaking  up  their  formation."  Sometimes 
there  were  more  than  ten  !  As  a  rule,  that 
was  all  the  information  made  public.  Nothing 
of  the  swift  rush  to  the  tune  of  a  roaring 
engine,  nothing  of  the  gathering  of  the  foes 
in  an  encircling  movement,  nothing  of  the 
cheating  of  death  by  the  amazing  skill  and 

272 


Against  Gi'eat  Odds 

staggering  pluck  of  the  pilot,  nothing  of  the 
cool-headedness  of  a  man  sitting  with  a  machine- 
gun  spitting  out  its  stream  of  lead — while  from 
all  sides  the  enemy  were  striving  to  plug  the 
engine  with  shot  or  cut  away  the  ever-moving 
tail  of  the  machine  with  the  red,  white,  and 
blue  circles. 

Occasionally,  however,  some  interesting 
details  were  published — as  in  the  case  of 
Captain  W.  A.  Summers  (Highlanders  and 
R.F.C.)  and  Lieutenant  Tudor-Hart  (North- 
umberland Fusiliers  and  R.F.C),  who  in 
the  summer  of  1916  when  on  patrol  duty 
somewhere  over  the  troubled  front  in  France, 
took  the  offensive  against  a  flight  of  no  fewer 
than  ten  German  machines.  They  were 
coming  toward  the  British  lines  to  spy  out 
the  land,  and  intending  no  doubt  to  leave 
behind  them  a  few  mementoes  of  such  a 
wonderful  feat  as  having  braved  the  crossing 
of  the  lines  ;  for  those  were  the  days  when 
generally  German  aviators  merely  hovered 
over  their  own  positions,  fearing  to  cross  '  No 
Man's  Land.' 

Being  so  superior  in  numbers  to  the  single 
s  273 


Thrilling  Deeds 

battle-plane,  which  was  a  fine  two-seater  with 
a  couple  of  guns,  the  German  squadron  for 
once  held  on  its  way  when  the  Britisher  ap- 
proached with  its  engine  roaring  out  a  challenge 
to  mortal  combat.  For  a  while  the  Germans 
thought  they  had  the  British  machine  at  their 
mercy,  but  they  were  very  sadly  disillusioned. 
Captain  Summers,  who  was  the  pilot  of  the 
two-seater,  steered  his  'plane  so  skilfully  and 
worked  his  Lewis  gun  so  effectively,  at  the 
same  time  that  Lieutenant  Tudor-Hart  with 
an  expertness  gained  in  many  an  aerial  '  scrap ' 
manned  the  second  machine-gun,  that  despite 
their  strength  in  numbers,  the  Germans  could 
neither  drive  off  the  British  machine  nor 
inflict  vital  damage  on  it. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  British 
machine  did  not  escape  punishment — and 
pretty  heavy  punishment,  too  !  What  else 
could  be  expected,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  very 
often  it  was  engaged  in  a  sharp  fight  against 
four  machines  at  once,  and  formed,  as  it  were, 
the  pivot  around  which  the  circling  enemies 
turned,  the  centre  to  which  streams  of  bullets 
pelted  with  hissing  anger  ?     Captain  Summers, 

274 


Against  Great  Odds 

his  begoggled  eyes  missing  very  little  of  what 
his  immediate  antagonists  were  doing,  or  the 
others  were  manoeuvring  to  do,  made  his 
machine  perform  miracles  of  evolution — 
darting  hither  and  thither,  swooping  down 
upon  some  luckless  German,  or  swinging  at 
top  speed  between  two  enemies  and  peppering 
them  with  his  Lewis  gun  as  he  went. 

Imagine  the  fierceness  of  the  fight  :  the 
narrow  escapes  from  disaster  in  the  great 
gamble  with  death  in  mid-air  !  Captain 
Summers,  who  knew  that  only  by  taking  risks 
could  victory  be  achieved,  piloted  his  machine 
in  such  a  way  that  very  often  it  was  within 
fifteen  feet  of  its  immediate  opponent.  For 
several  long  drawn-out  seconds  collision  seemed 
imminent  and  impossible  to  avoid,  as  the 
wide-spreading  'planes  swept  close  together, 
then,  with  a  sharp  bank  Captain  Summers 
circled  round  the  foe  while  Lieutenant  Tudor- 
Hart  sprinkled  the  nickel  bullets  over  the 
German.  Then,  back  again  the  British  machine 
swept  to  the  attack,  which  was  maintained  until 
the  observer  noticed  that  another  foe  was 
approaching  from  above. 

275 


Thrilling  Deeds 

Such  a  moment  called  for  instantaneous 
action ;  and  Captain  Summers  was  equal  to 
the  occasion.  Even  while  his  observer  was 
emptying  a  belt  of  destructive  missiles  the 
pilot  pushed  the  '  joy-stick  '  over  to  the  right  ; 
'the  machine  banked  at  so  perilous  an  angle 
that  it  seemed  it  could  never  right  itself  again, 
recovered,  and  then  went  round  in  a  roaring 
whirl  which  carried  it  out  of  range  of  the  enemy 
overhead.  A  tug  of  the  *  joy-stick '  once 
more  sent  it  rising  steeply,  so  that  in  a  few 
seconds  the  foe,  all  unprepared  for  such  a 
swift  and  courageous  manoeuvre,  was  being 
showered  with  bullets  from  above.  Then  the 
coming  of  another  Hun  from  the  rear  dis- 
tracted the  attention  of  the  Britishers  and 
called  for  yet  further  evolutions,  each  more 
amazing  than  its  predecessors.  Once  there 
came  an  attack  from  two  foes  while  the  Britons 
were  engaged  with  a  third,  and  as  the  enemies 
swept  from  front  and  rear  it  seemed  that 
escape  this  time  was  impossible.  But  the 
miracle  happened  :  as  the  Huns  approached, 
their  machine-guns  spitting  angrily,  the  British 
battle-plane     suddenly     dived,     leaving     the 

276 


Against  Great  Odds 

enemies  rushing  madly  toward  each  other 
while  Captain  Summers  drove  his  machine 
straight  for  another  foe  which  had  been  coming 
up  to  the  attack  from  below. 

In  such  a  way  did  the  hopelessly  out-num- 
bered British  pilot  carry  out  his  self-imposed 
attack,  and  so  vigorous  was  the  assault  that 
the  German  formation  was  smashed  and  the 
various  machines  began  a  helter-skelter  flight 
to  their  lines,  followed  by  their  redoubtable 
foe,  who  chased  them  many  miles  over  the 
German  positions  and  only  thought  of  re- 
turning home  when  ammunition  had  run  out. 

Then  the  Britisher  merely  turned  and  sailed 
away,  and  no  Hun  machine  could  stop  it,  no 
*  Archie  '  could  bring  it  down. 


277 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Some  Anonymous  Heroes 

THE  pre-war  novelist  used  to  sit  down 
and  imagine  all  manner  of  wonderful 
things  in  the  way  of  aerial  fighting, 
and  many  queer  and  amazing  exploits  were 
narrated.  But  truth  has  proved  stranger  than 
even  the  wildest  fiction,  as  the  various  stories 
told  in  this  book  will  prove.  Here  is  a  story 
which,  if  it  had  been  told  before  the  war, 
would  have  been  laughed  at  as  being  at  least 
improbable,  if  not  impossible. 

Toward  the  end  of  1915,  British  airmen  on 
reconnaissance  work  over  and  behind  the 
German  lines  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bruges 
and  Nieuport,  frequently  noticed  an  enemy 
motor-car  of  great  speed  racing  along  the  roads 
as  if  on  urgent  business.  Whenever  this 
particular  car  appeared,  all  other  traffic  gave 
place  to  it,  so  as  to  enable  it  to  dash  along  at 
full  speed.  That  car  became  a  kind  of  lode- 
stone  to  the  British  aviators,  many  of  whom 

278 


Sonic  Anonymoics  Heroes 

tried  to  put  it  out  of  action.  Time  after  time 
they  failed  ;  but  one  day  an  airman  who, 
hke  many  others,  had  frequently  attacked 
the  car,  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would 
settle  accounts  with  it.  Previously,  like  his 
comrades,  he  had  used  bombs ;  but  it  is  not 
easy  to  bomb  a  speeding  motor-car  ! 

The  British  aviator  does  not  like  to  be 
worsted,  and  this  particular  one  had  decided 
that  the  very  next  time  he  set  eyes  on  it  he 
would  at  all  risks  disable  that  car. 

The  day  came  when,  flying  at  a  considerable 
height  in  company  with  another  machine,  the 
aviator  saw  the  motor-car  tearing  along  the 
road  in  the  direction  opposite  to  that  in  which 
the  British  aeroplanes  were  flying.  The  pilot 
suddenly  turned  his  machine  from  his  com- 
panion 'plane,  and  set  off  in  pursuit  of  the 
car.  His  observer,  who  understood  his  pilot's 
ambition,  realized  what  was  afoot,  and  knew 
that  this  time  bombs  were  to  give  place  to 
the  machine-gun. 

The  occupants  in  the  car  had  seen  the  target- 
marked  aeroplane  in  the  distance  and  they 
were  not  at  all  surprised  when  it  turned  and 

279 


Thrilling  Deeds 

gave  chase,  past  experience  having  told  them 
to  expect  this.  However,  as  they  had  over  and 
over  again  successfully  eluded  such  pursuing 
craft,  they  probably  smiled  as  they  told 
themselves  that  they  were  in  little  danger. 
Their  car  was  speedy,  and  such  a  rapidly  moving 
target  was  not  easy  to  hit  with  bombs.  The 
chauffeur  sat  at  his  wheel  and  drove  the  machine 
along  at  a  terrific  pace  ;  while  ever  and  anon 
the  officers  whom  he  was  driving  turned  and 
looked  at  the  closely  pursuing  aeroplane.  It 
was  drawing  nearer,  and  suddenly  to  their 
consternation  the  Germans  realized  that  this 
particular  machine  was  adopting  tactics 
utterly  different  from  those  tried  by  aviators 
in  previous  attacks.  Instead  of  content- 
ing himself  with  travelling  over  the  car  and 
dropping  bombs,  the  pilot  of  the  present 
craft  was  coming  down  in  a  swift  steep  dive 
which  it  was  only  too  evident  to  the  Germans 
would  bring  it  immediately  over  their  motor, 
unless  they  could  get  more  power  out  of  the 
engine.  But  the  chauffeur  had  already  opened 
that  out,  and  not  another  ounce  of  pressure 
could  be   obtained  ;    so   that   compared  with 

280 


Some  Anonymous  Heroes 

the  speed  at  which  the  aeroplane  was  making 
its  descent  the  motor-car  seemed  to  be 
standing  still. 

The  startled  Germans  had  but  one  hope: 
the  aeroplane  was  making  so  steep  a  dive 
that  it  seemed  impossible  for  it  to  escape 
crashing  to  the  ground. 

But  the  British  pilot  had  his  machine  under 
superb  control.  He  had  worked  out  the  whole 
manoeuvre  to  a  nicety,  had  judged  the  speed 
at  which  he  and  the  car  were  travelhng,  while 
his  observer  was  ready  with  his  machine-gun, 
and  when  the  throbbing  biplane  was  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  pelting  motor-car  he  opened 
a  hot  fire  at  the  occupants.  So  close  was  the 
aeroplane  that  the  aviators  could  see  every 
action  of  the  Germans.  The  chauffeur  was 
bending  over  his  wheel,  one  of  the  officers 
was  crouching  as  if  hoping  to  escape  the 
stream  of  bullets,  while  another,  more  coura- 
geous, was  actually  standing  up,  revolver  in 
hand,  and  firing  for  all  he  was  worth  in  an 
attempt  to  drive  off  the  attackers.  These, 
however,  were  not  to  be  driven  off.  With 
revolver  bullets  boring  holes  in  their  planes 

281 


Thrilling  Deeds 

and  singing  unmusically  about  their  ears,  the 
Britishers  held  on  to  the  tail  of  the  fleeing  car, 
the  biplane  still  at  an  angle  which  threatened 
to  send  it  nose-diving  into  the  ground.  Even 
the  British  observer  was  not  feeling  at  all 
comfortable  during  those  last  few  moments  in 
which  his  pilot  kept  the  tail  of  the  machine 
up.  Though  the  feat  of  levelling  up  the 
aeroplane  seemed  impossible,  the  pilot  pulled 
his  '  joy-stick  '  toward  him,  the  biplane  gave 
a  quick  convulsive  shiver  as  the  elevators  felt 
the  changed  pressure  of  the  air,  the  whole 
machine  rocked  like  a  storm-tossed  ship,  its  nose 
went  up,  and  the  next  instant  the  aeroplane 
was  pelting  along  in  safety,  leaving — what  ?  A 
German  motor-car  lying  helpless  upon  its  side  ! 
For,  just  as  the  British  pilot  sent  his  steed 
mounting,  the  chauffeur  of  the  motor-car, 
badly  wounded  by  the  machine-gun  fire,  lost 
control,  and  the  car  made  a  dash  for  the  bank 
at  the  side  of  the  road.  There  were  shouts 
of  dismay  from  the  German  officers  as  their 
doomed  machine  crashed  into  the  bank, 
pitching  them  headlong  into  a  ploughed 
field,  and  putting  the  finishing  touch  to  their 

282 


Sojne  Anonymious  Heroes 

little    misadventure    by    turning    a    complete 
somersault  ! 

It  was  a  very  satisfied  pair  of  aviators  who 
flew  back  to  their  companion  machine  and 
so,  as  Pepys  has  it — home. 

In  this  little  story  we  will  call  the  pilot 
Smithson  and  the  observer  Jones,  and  hope, 
for  the  sake  of  escaping  the  ire  of  those  who 
would  object,  that  we  have  not  by  any  chance 
hit  upon  the  correct  names.  Smithson  and 
Jones  went  up,  on  a  certain  day  in  December 
1915,  to  take  photographs  of  German  positions  ; 
and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  whole  neigh- 
bourhood was  alive  with  '  Archibalds  '  it  was 
a  hazardous  task  that  lay  before  the  aviators. 
Every  clump  of  wood  that  dotted  the  country- 
side had  its  hidden  anti-aircraft  gun,  and  a 
startling  number  of  fleecy  whorls  appeared 
in  the  sky  at  the  appearance  of  the  British 
biplane — an  F.E.,  by  the  way. 

However,  as  aviators  live  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  such  things,  Smithson  and  Jones 
were  not  unduly  depressed ;  in  fact,  their 
spirits  rose  as  their  machine  carried  them  up 

283 


Thrilling  Deeds 

into  more  chilly  heights.  The  air  seemed  to 
be  full  of  aeroplanes,  all  of  them  belonging  to 
the  Allies,  for  the  Germans  were  not  so  active 
in  the  air  just  then  as  they  had  been  at  various 
other  times.  Not  that  a  swift-moving  Fokker 
might  not  suddenly  appear  out  of  the  nowhere, 
swoop  down  wagging  its  tail  and  spraying  a 
leaden  hurricane,  and  make  things  generally 
lively. 

Nine  thousand  feet  did  Smithson  and 
his  comrade  climb  in  about  an  hour,  during 
which  time  the  splendid  camera  worked  by  the 
observer  took  such  photographs  as  were  con- 
sidered worth  while.  After  rising  for  another 
1000  feet,  Jones,  looking  toward  the  east, 
saw  a  thrilling  spectacle — a  fast  monoplane 
chasing  a  biplane — and  he  thought  that  it 
might  be  a  British  comrade  engaged  with  a 
German  daring  enough  to  approach  the  British 
lines.  The  chase  was  going  on  some  good 
distance  away,  and  about  2500  feet  below  the 
F.E.,  but  Smithson  pointed  his  machine's 
nose  in  that  direction  and  hastened  to  take 
part  in  the  little  affair,  if  it  were  not  unfor- 
tunately all  over  by  the  time  he  arrived.     As 

284 


Some  A?ionymous  Heroes 

it  happened,  he  arrived  in  time  ;  and,  judging 
his  position  to  a  nicety,  Smithson  put  up  his 
tail  till  the  machine  was  almost  vertical  in 
the  air,  and  nose-dived  for  about  2000  feet 
at  a  rate  with  which  the  air  speed-indicator 
could  not  cope,  being  designed  to  register  no 
more  than  a  hundred  and  sixty  miles  an  hour  ! 
It  was  a  hair-raising  drop,  and  Smithson  would 
not  have  been  at  all  astonished  if  the  F.E. 
had  folded  up  its  wings  and  dropped .  like  a 
stone.  Smithson  had  little  time  for  medi- 
tation, for  on  approaching  he  realized  that 
the  monoplane  was  German  and,  owing  to  its 
speed,  had  the  advantage  of  what  was  un- 
mistakably a  British  biplane.  So  well  had 
Smithson  worked  out  things  that  when  his 
machine  was  500  feet  from  the  two  combatants 
the  latter  were  almost  directly  underneath  him, 
the  monoplane  threshing  out  its  bullets  at  the 
biplane  from  a  range  of  about  fifty  yards. 

Smithson  let  his  'plane  dive  sheer  until  it 
was  within  200  feet  of  the  Hun,  and  then 
began  to  flatten  it  out  gradually,  in  order  to 
avoid  straining  it  too  much  by  a  sudden  jerk, 
which  might   have  upset  all   his  calculations. 

285 


Thrilling  Deeds 

The  result  of  this  manoeuvre  placed  the  F.E., 
when  at  a  distance  of  about  sixty  feet  off,  just 
above  and  behind  the  monoplane ;  where- 
upon the  Lewis  gun  began  to  rattle,  and  twenty 
rounds  of  nickel  were  slipped  into  the  German. 
Evidently  this  was  the  first  inkling  Herr  Hun 
had  of  the  F.E.'s  presence,  and  when  he 
realized  it  he  banked  sharply  and  swung 
round  to  meet  the  newcomer,  sweeping  im- 
mediately beneath  him  and  firing  as  he  did 
so.  The  tactics  of  the  German  made  it 
necessary  for  the  F.E.  to  bank  almost  per- 
pendicularly so  as  to  make  a  complete  circle 
and  thus  keep  an  eye  upon  the  monoplane. 
The  German  repeatedly  made  wide,  sweeping 
circles  round  the  F.E.,  which  was  executing 
smaller  circles,  Jones  meanwhile  trying  vainly 
to  bring  his  machine-gun  to  bear.  The 
difficulty  with  the  gun  was  afterward  ex- 
plained by  the  gentleman  whom  we  have 
christened  Smithson,  who  said :  "  Owing  to  the 
fact  that  we  were  doing  complete  turns  in 
about  twice  the  length  of  our  machine,  the 
centrifugal  force  was  so  great  that  Jones 
couldn't  hold  the  machine-gun  on  its  mounting  ; 

286 


Some  Anonym  Otis  Heroes 

it  swung  round,  and  though  the  whole  gun  only 
weighs  28  lb.,  he  could  not  pull  it  square." 

Naturally,  this  was  a  handicap,  especially 
as  the  German,  in  his  larger  circles,  was  able 
to  bring  his  gun  into  action  ;  and  things  might 
have  assumed  a  serious  aspect  if  the  monoplane 
had  not  suddenly  decided  to  hit  the  unmarked 
trail  for  home,  probably  because  he  could  see 
in  the  blue  three  more  British  machines  pound- 
ing toward  him.  The  German  made  a  sudden 
dive  for  Mother  Earth,  and  after  him  went 
the  F.E.  with  Jones  working  his  gun  for  all 
he  was  worth  and  spraying  the  fleeing  foe. 
It  was  a  ticklish  moment,  for  the  '  Archies  ' 
were  having  a  good  deal  to  say,  and  the  dis- 
tance from  the  earth  was  rapidly  decreasing. 
Smithson  was  wondering  how  long  the  down- 
ward chase  would  last,  when  suddenly  some- 
thing happened :  the  monoplane  wavered, 
side-slipped,  dived,  and  then  turned  a  somer- 
sault which  brought  its  wheels  uppermost 
— and  the  Britishers  knew  that  one  of  those 
last  bullets  had  gone  home,  evidently  killing 
the  German  pilot. 

There   was    a    7000-feet    drop    before   that 

287 


Thrilling  Deeds 

monoplane,  and  it  made  it  in  a  curious,  awe- 
inspiring  fashion,  the  full  significance  of  which 
only  an  aviator  can  realize.  "  The  evolutions 
which  that  machine  described  falling  7000 
feet — with  no  man  at  the  wheel — were 
extraordinary,  viewed  from  above,"  wrote 
Smithson  ;  "  first,  wheels  up ;  then  right  way 
again ;  a  loop,  several  cart-wheels,  a  nose- 
dive ;  more  loops,  and  several  turns  on  to 
and  off  its  back,  sideways,  until  it  was  lost 
to  sight  almost  on  the  ground." 

Thirty-five  seconds  only  did  the  monoplane 
take  to  drop  those  7000  feet,  and  every  one 
of  them  was  filled  with  the  lusty  cheering  of 
delighted  Tommies,  who  in  a  long  stretch  of 
four  miles  of  trenches  were  standing  up  and 
waving  their  hats  and  shouting  themselves 
hoarse.  A  number  of  the  cheering  soldiers, 
however,  suddenly  made  a  dive  for  a  dug-out, 
because  it  occurred  to  them  that  the  falling 
Hun  was  heading  straight  for  them.  They 
just  managed  to  scurry  in  like  rabbits,  when 
there  was  a  crash  upon  the  tree  trunks 
forming  the  roof  of  the  dug-out,  and  the  nose 
of  the  monoplane  buried  itself  in  the  bottom 

288 


Some  Anonymous  Heroes 

of  the  '  funk-hole,'  the  impact  telescoping 
the  greater  part  of  the  machine.  The  engine 
caught  fire,  the  dug-out  was  filled  with  smoke, 
and  the  four  men  who  had  rushed  to  safety 
there  were  all  slightly  wounded. 

Smithson  looked  at  his  watch,  and  found 
that  a  lot  of  valuable  time  which  should  have 
been  spent  in  taking  photographs  had  been 
taken  up  in  fighting,  so  he  set  the  F.E.  climbing 
again  ;  but  before  many  feet  were  registered, 
the  engine  shirked,  and  refused  to  do  any 
more  work.  This  necessitated  giving  up  all 
hopes  of  finishing  the  allotted  work  ;  and  so 
the  F.E.  was  turned  toward  home,  where 
Smithson  and  Jones,  when  they  arrived,  re- 
ceived a  rousing  tribute,  and  discovered  that 
the  observer  of  the  biplane  to  the  rescue  of 
which  they  had  opportunely  raced  had  been 
badly  wounded. 

After  devouring  a  substantial  lunch,  Smith- 
son  and  his  comrade  motored  up  to  the 
front  line,  where  the  machine  had  fallen — 
the  German  front  trenches  being  about  a 
hundred  yards  away — and  there  found  a  few 
interesting  little  articles  which  were  carried 
T  289 


Thrilling  Deeds 

away  as  mementoes  of  an  aerial  '  scrap '  which 
they  knew  might  possibly  have  had  a  different 
ending. 

In  the  far-off  Garden  of  Eden  things  hap- 
pened during  the  Great  War  the  like  of  which 
Father  Adam  never  dreamed  of,  and  not  the 
least  impressive  of  them  were  the  doings  of 
certain  airmen,  unnamed. 

In  the  early  days  of  war  in  Mesopotamia, 
before  it  was  realized  that  there  would  be  a 
protracted  campaign,  our  aviators  had  no- 
where to  stable  their  machines,  and  the  result 
was  that  constant  exposure  to  rain  and  fierce 
sun  ruined  them ;  but,  as  the  campaign 
progressed  and  the  fighting  developed  into 
a  counterpart,  on  a  small  scale,  of  the  war- 
fare of  the  Western  front,  aerodromes  were 
established,  and  a  regular  system  of  bombing 
expeditions  was  instituted. 

The  Flying  Corps  worked  in  conjunction 
with  cavalry,  and  the  enemy's  irregular  horse, 
their  raiders,  or  their  companies  of  thieves^ 
knew  to  their  cost  how  effective  an  arm  of 
warfare  the  Flying  Service  was.     The  lurking- 

290 


Some  Ano7iymo7is  Heroes 

places  of  the  raiders  were  swept  by  machine- 
guns  from  aeroplanes,  and  even  squadrons 
of  Turkish  cavalry  were  chased  by  the  flying 
men — in  very  truth  a  '  flying  column,'  but 
in  a  far  different  sense  from  what  had  pre- 
viously been  understood  by  the  term. 

It  is  on  record  that  a  raid  on  our  camel  trans- 
port was  unsuccessful  primarily  because  the 
airmen  had  often  before  struck  terror  into  the 
hearts  of  the  enemy,  by  literally  raking  them 
with  machine-guns. 

Flying  in  Mesopotamia  is  by  no  means  a 
pleasure.  A  newspaper  correspondent  with  our 
forces,  describing  prevailing  conditions,  said : 

"  In  the  hot  weather,  the  conditions  for 
flying  are  very  trying.  At  night  and  in  the 
early  morning  the  air  at  500  feet  is  far  hotter 
.  than  on  the  ground,  and  it  becomes  hotter 
and  hotter  until  you  reach  3500  feet.  You 
must  go  up  6000  feet  before  you  begin  to  feel 
cool.  The  intense  heat  thins  the  oil  ;  you 
can  never  run  your  motor  full  out  or  it  will 
get  red-hot.  You  lose  20  h.p.  at  a  tempe- 
rature of  115  degrees.  Long  flights  are 
impossible.      After    9    a.m.    the    heat    makes 

291 


Thrilling  Deeds 

conditions  most  adverse  for  flying,  and  there  is 
nothing  to  be  done  in  the  evening.  The  wood 
warps  and  shrinks  in  the  sun.  New  machines 
have  to  be  re-rigged  when  they  come  out,  and 
the  dust  chokes  the  engines.  The  sand  rises 
in  clouds  and  blows  as  high  as  4000  feet. 

"  During  the  rainy  season  mud  sometimes 
put  our  machines  out  of  action.  After  a 
single  day's  rain  at  Oran,  a  90-h.p.  engine 
and  eight  men  could  not  move  an  aeroplane 
in  the  driest  part  of  the  aerodrome  in  the  driest 
part  of  the  camp. 

*'  Then  there  are  the  floods.  An  aeroplane 
at  Kurna,  or  Nasiriyeh,  between  April  and 
July  had  the  same  difficulty  in  finding  a  dry 
spot  as  Noah's  dove.  And  it  is  much  easier 
to  land  than  to  get  away.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  campaign,  when  we  were  operating  in 
country  where  the  tribesmen  were  in  the  pay 
of  the  Turks,  the  landing  difficulty  increased 
the  odds  against  the  aviators." 

As  an  instance  showing  how  the  floods 
affected  the  aviation,  the  following  story  is 
worth  telling.  Like  so  many  of  the  good 
yarns  of  the  air,  the  name  of  the  chief  char- 

292 


Some  Anony?jio2cs  Heroes 

acter  is  unknown.  It  was  in  July,  1915,  and 
the  anonymous  airman,  who  had  gone  up  to 
Nasiriyeh,  was  compelled  to  descend  at  the 
earliest  moment  ;  but  peer  as  intently  as  he 
might,  he  could  see  nothing  beneath  save 
water.  The  whole  country  was  under  flood — 
and  as  the  airman  was  flying  a  machine  not 
built  to  do  the  work  of  a  seaplane,  the  task 
was  not  particularly  enchanting,  especially 
as  the  airman  knew  that  where  he  must 
eventually  land  there  were  a  number  of  Arabs. 
Now,  as  on  one  side  of  the  river  the  Arabs 
were  friendly,  and  on  the  other  were  hostile, 
a  great  deal  depended  upon  which  side  the 
aviator  landed.  It  called  for  some  skilful 
manoeuvring  to  ensure  bringing  the  machine 
down  in  the  right  place,  but  eventually  he 
succeeded  in  landing  on  what  he  thought  was 
the  friendly  side.  No  sooner  had  he  alighted, 
however,  than  a  number  of  hostile  Arabs 
appeared,  rushing  down  toward  the  river- 
bank,  and  evidently  intent  upon  bagging  the 
great  mechanical  bird.  After  all  he  had  come 
down  on  the  wrong  side !  The  position  was 
far  from  a  comfortable  one  for  the  unfortunate 

« 

293 


Thrilling  Deeds 

aviator,  for  he  was  knee-deep  in  water  and  he 
had  only  his  revolver  to  defend  himself  with, 
but  he  determined  to  put  up  a  good  fight.  He 
was  just  about  to  let  fly  at  the  foremost  of  the 
thieving  crowd,  who  were  now  close  to  the 
machine,  when  to  his  surprise  a  series  of  rifle 
reports  rang  out  and  a  number  of  the  enemy 
went  tumbling  over,  while  the  rest  promptly 
scattered  in  all  directions. 

The  aviator  presently  descried  a  number  of 
friendly  Arabs  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
and  he  knew  that  help  was  at  hand — help 
which,  as  it  turned  out,  meant  the  saving  of 
the  derelict  machine ;  for  after  the  '  friendUes ' 
had  poured  in  a  goodly  amount  of  fire,  they 
waded  out  to  where  the  aeroplane  was  lying 
and  very  soon  had  drawn  it  out  of  danger. 

Some  day  we  shall  have  the  full  story  of 
the  work  of  our  airmen  in  Mesopotamia,  and 
it  will  contain  many  thrilling  chapters  ! 


294 


CHAPTER  XX 

The  Train  Bo7nbers 

ONE  of  the  uses  of  aircraft  in  war  is 
to  disorganize  the  enemy's  hnes  of 
communication,  a  direction  in  which 
much  good  work  has  been  done  by  British 
airmen  who  have  bombed  transport  columns 
and  cut  railway  lines. 

To  illustrate  the  kind  of  work  done  the 
following  stories  may  be  told,  beginning  with 
the  exploit  of  Second-Lieutenant  H.  Long 
(Durham  Light  Infantry  and  R.F.C.).  Before 
going  on  to  the  recital  of  this  adventur«e,  how- 
ever, we  will  first  record  another  incident  in 
which  the  gallant  Lieutenant  was  concerned. 

On  September  loth,  1915,  he  sped  across  the 
British  lines,  over  '  No  Man's  Land '  and  beyond 
the  German  trenches,  to  tackle  an  enemy 
observation  balloon-shed,  the  balloon  in  which, 
from  the  British  point  of  view,  had  on  seve- 
ral occasions  proved  too  useful  to  the  German 
artillery.     Lieutenant   Long  carried  a  special 

295 


Thrilling  Deeds 

bomb,  weighing  one  hundred  pounds.  Al- 
though he  was  fired  at  very  vigorously  by  the 
German  batteries  as  he  passed,  the  airman 
succeeded  in  arriving  well  over  the  shed 
without  being  hit,  and  prepared  to  drop  his 
bomb.  He  was  flying  in  circles  and  taking 
aim,  when  an  anti-aircraft  battery  close  by  the 
shed  made  his  position  so  hot  that  he  decided 
to  deal  with  the  guns  and  leave  the  original 
objective  for  the  time  being.  So,  mounting 
as  high  as  was  practicable,  consistently  with 
good  aim,  he  darted  toward  the  battery,  and, 
as  he  passed  over  it,  released  his  bomb,  which 
fell  plumb  upon  the  guns.  Exploding  with  a 
terrific  roar,  it  reduced  the  battery  to  a  mass 
of  useless  metal,  killing  some  of  the  gunners 
and  wounding  others. 

Not  a  little  pleased  at  his  success,  the  intrepid 
airman  now  flew  back  to  his  base  and  loaded 
up  with  another  huge  bomb,  with  which  he 
returned  to  settle  accounts  with  the  balloon- 
shed.  The  Germans  were  probably  far  from 
expecting  that  the  airman  would  make  a  second 
visit.  They  were  engaged  in  packing  up  their 
balloon  when  the   dramatic   reappearance   of 

296 


Tlie  Train  Bombers 

the  aviator  caused  something  Hke  consternation. 
Long  lost  no  time  in  getting  to  business  :  as 
he  swooped  over  the  spot  where  the  men, 
looking  like  flies,  were  tugging  at  ropes  to 
haul  down  the  captive  monster,  he  let  loose 
his  giant  bomb,  and  as  he  whirred  away  there 
came  up  to  him  the  resonant  roar  of  the 
explosion.  Looking  down,  he  saw  that  his  aim 
had  not  been  so  good  as  on  the  previous 
occasion  :  the  bomb  had  missed  its  objective, 
although  only  by  a  very  few  yards.  No  little 
damage  was  done  in  the  neighbourhood, 
however,  which  was  some  comfort  to  the 
plucky  Lieutenant. 

Three  days  later  Lieutenant  Long  set  out 
on  a  different  adventure.  Information  had 
been  received  that  a  number  of  enemy  trains 
were  being  moved  up  toward  the  front,  and 
it  was  desirable  that  they  should  be  stopped. 
The  mark  presented  by  a  moving  train  is  not 
as  easy  as  the  uninitiated  might  imagine, 
any  more  than  two  sets  of  gleaming  rails  are 
quite  the  best  targets.  In  order  not  to  throw 
away  his  bombs.  Lieutenant  Long,  when  he 
came    within    sight    of    the    speeding    trains, 

297 


Thrilling  Deeds 

dropped  to  an  altitude  of  only  500  feet,  at 
which,  naturally,  he  afforded  a  fine  mark 
for  anti-aircraft  guns  and  even  for  riflemen. 
He  kept  pace  with  the  trains,  which,  on  the 
appearance  of  the  aerial  enemy,  had  increased 
their  speed  ;  but  his  bombs  missed  the  quarry 
and  ploughed  up  the  ground  alongside  the  track. 
Determined  not  to  be  frustrated,  the  airman 
flew  back  to  his  base  for  a  further  supply  of 
bombs,  and  then,  concentrating  upon  the 
foremost  train,  he  returned  to  the  attack  no 
fewer  than  three  times,  on  each  occasion  flying 
at  a  greater  height  in  order  to  make  the  best 
use  of  his  bomb-sight.  It  was  a  case  of  rapid 
travelling,  quick  manoeuvring  and  nice  calcula- 
tion of  the  relative  speed  of  the  train  and  the 
aeroplane ;  a  case,  too,  of  taking  hazards  of 
being  struck  by  the  incessant  fire  directed  at 
him  while  over  the  train,  and  especially  while 
returning  for  supplies  of  bombs.  But  the 
Lieutenant  courageously  faced  these  perils, 
worked  out  his  plans,  and  carried  them  into 
execution,  with  the  result  that  after  three 
journeys  he  had  torn  up  the  railway  lines  in 
two  places,  and  so  for  a  time  at  any  rate  had 

298 


The  Train  Bombers 

prevented   troops  from   being  transported   to 
where  they  were  sorely  needed. 

His  success  encouraged  Lieutenant  Long  to 
essay  a  similar  feat  two  days  later,  when  he 
attacked  a  crowded  train  from  a  height  of 
500  feet.  Although  pestered  by  concentrated 
rifle-fire,  he  managed  by  most  careful  sighting 
to  tear  up  many  yards  of  rails. 

Then,  as  though  he  had  not  done  enough 
for  one  day,  that  very  evening,  when  the 
ever-watchful  observers  reported  that  troop 
trains  were  moving  twenty-five  miles  away. 
Lieutenant  Long  gallantly  volunteered  for 
further  duty. 

Again  winging  his  flight  over  the  enemy 
front  trenches,  he  made  for  the  trains,  but  a 
terrific  rainstorm,  the  gathering  darkness,  and 
the  gusty  weather  were  against  him  this  time, 
and  he  was  unable  to  reach  the  trains  in  time 
to  hold  them  up.  Not  to  be  denied,  however, 
the  airman  turned  his  machine  and  raced  to- 
ward Peronne  Station — a  vitally  important 
strategic  point. 

It  was  a  flight  filled  with  many  dramatic 
moments,  for  in  the  raging  storm  the  elements 

299 


Thrilling  Deeds 

seemed  to  be  combining  to  destroy  the  intrepid 
human  who  dared  to  ignore  their  power.  Long 
held  on  tenaciously,  and  presently,  as  he  drew 
near  to  Peronne,  other  enemies  joined  in  the 
struggle  and  he  found  himself  faced  by  a 
veritable  curtain  of  fire  which  barred  the 
approach  to  the  station.  The  roar  of  the  ele- 
ments was  outdone  by  the  crash  of  exploding 
shells,  and  the  darkness  was  brightened  by 
red-glowing  stars  from  whose  beauty  death 
might  come  swiftly  at  any  moment.  So  in- 
cessant was  the  fire,  so  menacing  was  the  ever- 
changing  pattern  of  the  curtain  in  the  sky, 
that  the  aviator  perforce  gave  up  his  self- 
imposed  task,  and,  sweeping  round,  steered 
away  from  the  darkened  station.  But  not 
to  go  home  ;  the  explosives  he  carried  had 
not  been  used,  and  the  intrepid  pilot  scorned 
to  carry  them  back  with  him  !  So,  climbing 
rapidly  to  about  1500  feet,  he  made  for  a  rocket 
battery,  sent  his  bomb  hurtling  downward, 
and  heard  it  explode.  Then  the  sudden  cessa- 
tion of  fire  from  one  of  the  guns  of  the  battery 
told  that  the  aim  had  been  true ;  he  had  put 
at  least  one  gun  out  of  action,  and  the  evening's 

300 


TJie  Train  Bombers 

danger  had  been  justified,  even  although  he 
had  not  succeeded  in  his  first  objectives. 

On  a  certain  day  in  the  autumn  of  1916  a 
bombing  '  flight '  of  aeroplanes  set  off  to 
harass  the  enemy  on  his  lines  of  communica- 
tion. Among  the  British  pilots  were  Captain 
Eric  J.  Tyson  (General  List,  R.F.C.)  and 
Lieutenant  John  R.  Philpott  (General  List, 
R.F.C).  At  length,  after  many  miles  had 
been  covered,  what  looked  like  a  big  black 
worm  was  seen  in  the  distance. 

The  two  British  machines  darted  off  toward 
the  crawling  thing,  for  they  knew  that  it  was  an 
enemy  train,  hurrying  up  either  munitions  or 
troops.  Captain  Tyson  reached  the  spot  first, 
and  dived  from  a  tremendous  height  until  he  was 
within  about  300  feet  of  the  train.  The  droning 
of  his  engine  had  been  heard  ;  anti-aircraft  guns 
barked  at  him,  and  riflemen  sent  up  a  perfect 
hurricane  of  bullets.  It  was  a  pretty  picture 
for  the  artist,  but  a  none  too  pleasant  experi- 
ence for  the  man  sitting  in  the  frail  steed  of 
the  air.  Suddenly,  when  right  over  the  train. 
Captain  Tyson  loosed  his  bombs,  which  fell 

301 


Thrilling  Deeds 

with  resounding  crashes  and  effectually  stopped 
the  progress  of  the  train,  many  of  the  carriages 
of  which  were  in  ruins. 

Captain  Tyson  was  in  a  tight  corner,  however. 
In  addition  to  the  firing  from  the  ground  he 
had  now  to  face  several  enemy  aeroplanes 
which  came  rushing  upon  the  scene  and  opened 
fire  as  he  was  dodging  '  woolly  bears '  and 
rifle  bullets.  Meantime  Lieutenant  Philpott 
had  come  up  and  found  that  the  train  had  been 
wrecked.  Apparently  there  was  nothing  for 
him  to  do  there.  Not  far  off,  however,  lay 
the  railway  station — fair  mark  for  any  hostile 
aviator.  He  sailed  right  over,  dropping  his 
bombs  as  he  went,  banked,  turned,  and  made 
back  to  where  Captain  Tyson  was  engaged  with 
the  enemy  machines.  During  the  fight  the 
Captain  had  been  severely  wounded  and  his 
engine  had  been  struck  by  an  unlucky  shot, 
so  that  it  would  not  fire  properly,  and  was  a 
source  of  annoyance  and  danger  t o  it s  pilot .  The 
Captain,  however,  promptly  shed  his  annoyance 
and  forgot  the  danger  in  "  the  stern  joy  that 
warriors  feel  "  when  they  meet  their  opponents. 
Ably    seconded    by    Lieutenant    Philpott,    he 

302 


TJic  Traill  Bombers 

fought  a  good  fight — too  good  for  the  Germans, 
who  received  such  a  mauUng  that  they  very 
soon  scudded  to  earth. 

Meantime  the  Germans  below  were  endea- 
vouring to  start  another  of  their  machines. 
Neither  the  Captain  nor  the  Lieutenant  were 
inchned  to  allow  them  to  effect  their  purpose, 
and,  as  though  they  read  each  other's  thoughts, 
they  both  dived  toward  the  earth,  braving  a 
tornado  of  bursting  shrapnel  and  singing 
bullets.  Feverishly  the  Germans  toiled  at 
their  task,  hoping  against  hope  to  get  their 
machine  up  before  the  dare-devil  British  should 
come  within  effective  range  :  and  hoping,  too, 
that  one  of  their  own  guns  might  plant  a  shell 
where  it  would  put  an  end  to  the  flying  of  at 
least  one  of  the  machines. 

They  hoped  in  vain.  With  engines  roaring 
— the  Captain's  making  weird  protestations  at 
being  worked  at  all — the  two  assailants  thun- 
dered into  range,  and  gave  the  Huns  a  few 
missiles  which  scattered  them  in  all  directions 
and  dashed  their  hope  of  sending  up  the  aero- 
plane. Then  up  again,  and  with  the  wind 
whistling  merrily  through  the  holed  planes,  with 

303 


Thrilling  Deeds 

crashing  guns  below  them  and  screaming  shells 
behind  them,  the  Captain  and  his  comrade  took 
the  unmapped  trail  for  home.  It  is  pleasant  to 
add  that  later  they  were  awarded  the  Military 
Cross,  an  honour  which  they  had  certainly 
earned. 

Another  officer  who  won  the  Military  Cross 
for  train-bombing  was  Lieutenant  A.  L.  Gordon- 
Kidd  (Special  List,  R.F.C.),  who  from  a  height 
of  7500  feet  sighted  an  enemy  ammunition 
train — good  mark,  and  fair  prey  to  the  hawk 
of  the  Flying  Corps.  Down  went  the  gallant 
pilot  in  a  breathless  dive  which  carried  him 
to  within  900  feet  of  his  quarry.  Then,  at  a 
touch  of  the  pilot's  hand,  a  bomb  went  whizzing 
through  the  air  and  crashed  into  the  heart  of 
that  train-load  of  explosives.  The  destructive 
missile  had  been  well  and  truly  sighted  !  There 
was  an  upward  rush  of  air,  the  force  of  which 
affected  the  British  machine,  and  made  it 
difficult  for  the  aviator  to  keep  the  aero- 
plane on  an  even  keel.  Below,  however, 
was  a  sight  to  hold  any  man  enthralled : 
the    bomb    had    exploded    the    ammunition, 

304 


The  Train  Bombers 

and  what  was  left  of   the  train  was  blazing 
furiously. 

Another  successful  attack  upon  a  train  was 
the  work  of  Lieutenant  D.  A.  Colquhoun, 
R.F.C.  This  time  the  train  was  freighted  with 
horses — probably  intended  to  haul  heavy 
artillery  or  to  serve  as  draught  animals  for 
commissariat  wagons.  But,  whatever  their 
destined  use  may  have  been,  few  of  them 
lived  to  serve  it,  for  suddenly  out  of  the  sky 
came  humming  the  deadly  aeroplane  with 
tricoloured  circles  on  its  wings.  The  engine- 
driver  opened  the  throttle  of  his  iron  steed, 
the  fireman  stoked  till  the  sweat  rolled  off 
him.  All  in  vain,  the  dreaded  bird  of  ill-omen 
swooped  like  an  eagle  from  its  tremendous  height, 
and  with  such  impetus  that  it  seemed  it  must 
crash  into  the  racing  train.  The  pilot,  however, 
had  his  machine  well  in  hand,  and  when  at  a 
height  of  about  500  feet  he  released  a  bomb 
which  fell  with  devastating  effect  full  upon 
the  unfortunate  train.  Many  of  the  trucks 
were  instantly  destroyed,  and  the  aviator, 
from  his  comparatively  short  distance,  saw 
u  305 


ThriUmg  Deeds 

the  bodies  of  horses  flung  into  the  air  and  far 
away  from  the  train. 

Second-Lieutenant  F.  S.  Moller  (General  List, 
R.F.C.)  is  another  hero  of  the  air  whose  MiH- 
tary  Cross  was  awarded  for  bombing  a  train. 
Together  with  several  other  airmen  he  took 
part  in  a  raid  with  the  object  of  harassing 
enemy  communications  and  effecting  as  much 
damage  as  possible  to  the  '  dumps  '  containing 
accumulated  stores  of  ammunition.  Each  man 
knew  what  he  was  expected  to  do,  and  when, 
in  due  course,  the  raiders  arrived  over  the 
scene  of  their  proposed  activities.  Lieutenant 
Moller  set  to  work.  Far  below  he  could  see  a 
train  on  the  move,  heading  toward  the  British 
lines,  and  he  knew  that  there  was  a  fair  chance 
of  its  being  well  laden. 

Through  his  binoculars.  Lieutenant  Moller, 
as  he  dived  to  the  attack,  made  out  certain 
things  which  convinced  him  that  the  train 
was  carrying  ammunition,  and  continuing  his 
descent  until  he  was  only  about  300  yards  up, 
he  began  to  loose  his  bombs.  The  angry 
*  Archies '   barked  out   their  protests   at   the 

306 


The  Train  Bombers 

daripg  aviator,  who,  however,  took  httle  notice 
of  them,  and  the  ammunition  train  soon  felt 
the  destructive  power  of  British  explosives. 
Lieutenant  Moller,  having  noted  the  success 
of  his  attack,  now  darted  in  pursuit  of  three 
other  similarly  laden  trains,  the  drivers  of  which 
were  obviously  attempting  to  put  as  much 
space  as  possible  between  their  freights  and 
the  airman.  No  doubt  there  was  not  a  man 
on  those  trains  who  did  not  know  that  if  a 
bomb  from  the  raider  with  the  tricoloured 
targets  should  fall  upon  the  swaying  line  of 
cars  there  would  be  an  explosion  from  which 
few,  if  any,  of  them  would  escape.  But  a 
railway  train  is  at  a  disadvantage  as  regards 
speed  when  compared  with  an  aeroplane,  and 
Lieutenant  Moller  had  no  trouble  in  catching 
up  with  his  foes  ;  shells  burst  around  him  as 
he  flew,  and  shrapnel  clattered  upon  the  body 
of  his  machine.  Undeterred,  he  came  up  with 
the  rearmost  train,  swooped,  sighted,  and  his 
bombs  fell  with  a  resounding  crash.  Spending 
no  further  time  on  the  crippled  train,  the 
airman  caught  up  with  first  one  and  then  the 
other  train,  treating  them  with  similar  severity. 

307 


Thrilling  Deeds 

It  was  a  very  satisfied  British  airman  who 
now  returned  to  his  base,  and  not  even 
the  incessant  fire  of  the  anti-aircraft  guns 
which  battered  his  machine  spoiled  his 
enjoyment. 


308 


CHAPTER  XXI 

A  Chajupion  Aerial  Fighter 

FOUR  months  at  the  front,  and  a  hundred 
fights  in  the  air  !  Such  is  the  bald 
statement  of  facts  regarding  the  record 
of  Captain  and  FUght-Commander  Ball,  D.S.O., 
M.C.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that  by  the  time  he 
had  completed  those  first  four  months  on  active 
service  Captain  Ball  was  only  nineteen  years 
of  age,  and  one  has  some  idea  of  the  kind 
of  men  comprising  Britain's  aerial  fighting 
force. 

It  is  impossible  here  to  relate  even  a  tithe 
of  his  many  fights,  and  we  must  content  our- 
selves with  telling  one  or  two  of  the  exploits 
of  this  stern- jawed,  keen-eyed  king  of  the 
air. 

He  was  a  Second-Lieutenant  (Temporary 
Lieutenant)  when,  on  a  day  in  the  autumn 
of  1915,  he  destroyed  an  enemy  kite-balloon. 
Now,  in  order  to  bring  down  a  kite-balloon 
one  has  to  be  over  the  enemy's  lines  and  well 

309 


Thrilling  Deeds 

within  range  of  artillery  ;  and  although  the 
weird-looking  sausage  is  a  fairly  large  target, 
compared,  say,  with  a  Fokker,  it  is  no  easy 
task  to  drop  bombs  with  any  degree  of 
accuracy :  the  bomb  has  to  hit  fairly  and 
squarely.  When  Lieutenant  Ball  spotted  the 
kite-balloon  he  instantly  made  for  it,  swoop- 
ing down  upon  it  as  an  eagle  swoops  on 
its  prey.  When  immediately  over  it,  he 
loosed  his  first  bomb,  which  went  hurtling 
down  to  explode  harmlessly  on  the  ground. 
From  below,  the  anti-aircraft  guns  began  to 
pepper  him ;  but  Ball  stuck  to  his  task 
and  bombarded  that  balloon  until  he  had 
exhausted  his  bombs,  though,  to  his  chagrin, 
without  having  done  any  damage  to  his 
objective. 

Driving  his  machine  out  of  the  danger  zone, 
the  pilot  swept  back  to  his  aerodrome  be- 
hind our  lines,  loaded  up  with  further  bombs, 
and  without  wasting  a  moment  of  time,  took 
the  air  again  and  hied  him  out  across  country 
to  the  far  side  of  the  German  lines.  There 
was  the  kite-balloon,  still  tugging  at  its  ground 
lines  as  though  taunting  him  for  his  failure. 

310 


A  Champion  Aerial  Fighter 

Lieutenant  Ball  repeated  his  previous  tac- 
tics, but  with  this  difference :  one  of  the 
bombs  struck  home.  Immediately  the  balloon 
burst  into  flames,  and  with  a  tail  of  fire 
roaring  behind  it,  the  basket  fell  rapidly  to 
earth. 

The  official  announcement  of  the  award  of 
the  M.C.,  "  for  conspicuous  skill  and  gallantry 
on  many  occasions,"  contained,  after  a  brief 
account  of  this  exploit,  the  following  cold 
statement :  "He  has  done  great  execution 
among  enemy  aeroplanes.  On  one  occa- 
sion he  attacked  six  in  one  flight,  forced 
down  two  and  drove  the  others  off.  This 
occurred  several  miles  over  the  enemy's 
lines." 

How  one  wishes  for  an  amplification  of  that 
little  paragraph,  with  all  its  details  filled  in  ! 
But  the  lack  in  this  instance  is  somewhat  atoned 
for  in  the  official  accounts  of  how  Lieutenant 
Ball  earned  his  D.S.O.,  and  the  two  bars 
thereto. 

The  day  on  which  he  won  the  D.S.O.  was  a 
very  eventful  one  for  Lieutenant  Ball.  First 
he  espied  seven  enemy  machines  in  attacking 

311 


Thrilling  Deeds 

formation,  and  made  a  dive  for  them,  separating 
one  from  the  others  and  driving  toward  it  at  a 
terrific  rate  until  he  was  within  some  fifteen 
yards.  At  such  short  distance  there  is  Httle 
chance  of  manoeuvring  for  position,  and  it  is 
a  case  of  fighting  right  away.  The  Britisher 
set  his  machine-gun  ta-tat-tatting,  and  from 
the  German  machine  came  an  answering  song 
of  hate.  Bullets  from  the  guns  plunked  into 
the  machines,  flipped  through  planes,  snipped 
wires  which  twanged  to  the  rush  of  air  ;  but, 
although  Ball  had  many  a  mark  to  show  sub- 
sequently, none  of  the  enemy's  shots  got  home 
vitally,  or  caused  sufiicient  damage  to  put 
his  machine  out  of  control.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  German  got  it  hot — the  spraying 
bullets  from  Ball's  gun  dealt  severe  punish- 
ment to  the  Teuton  and  his  aeroplane.  The 
Hun  machine  was  suddenly  seen  to  shiver  ; 
do  what  the  pilot  would  he  could  not  get 
back  control  of  it ;  and  presently  it  slithered 
through  the  air  and  crashed  to  earth. 

This  was  quite  sufiicient  for  the  other  half- 
dozen  Germans,  who  promptly  made  off ! 

The  air  was  full  of  hostile  machines  that  day, 

312 


A  Champion  Aerial  Fighter 

and  scarcely  had  the  gallant  Ball  finished  the 
fight  just  described  when  five  fresh  antagonists 
appeared  in  sight.  Having  still  a  fair  supply 
of  ammunition,  Ball  went  gallantly  to  the 
attack,  adopting  similar  tactics  and  concen- 
trating upon  the  machine  nearest  him,  which 
he  approached  at  rapid  speed  until  he  was 
within  ten  yards  of  it.  For  a  second  time 
that  day  he  was  successful ;  well-aimed  shots 
hit  the  German's  petrol  tank  and  played  havoc 
with  the  engine,  so  that  the  machine  went 
nose-diving  to  earth  with  flames  issuing  forth 
from  its  fuselage. 

There  was  little  time  to  exult  over  his  victory, 
for  Lieutenant  Ball  during  his  attack  on  this 
machine  had  been  subjected  to  a  rapid  fire 
from  another  enemy,  to  whom  he  now  turned 
his  undivided  attention.  Quick  as  lightning 
he  swung  round  to  the  attack,  firing  his  bullets 
into  the  German,  and  giving  his  foe  neither 
rest  nor  respite  until  he  had  afforded  him 
the  full  benefit  of  every  cartridge  in  his 
possession.  Once  again,  the  enemy  machine, 
badly  holed  and  quite  out  of  control,  crashed 
down   on   the   top   of   a   house   in   a   village 

313 


Tkrilline'  Deeds 


<s 


over  which  the  latter  part  of  the  fight  had 
taken  place. 

Having  used  up  all  his  ammunition,  Lieu- 
tenant Ball  winged  his  way  to  the  nearest 
aerodrome  within  our  lines,  took  in  a  supply, 
and  with  a  cheery  wave  of  the  hand  was  off 
up  into  the  air  again,  looking  for  more  ene- 
mies— and  finding  them.  What  happened 
later  on  was  a  fitting  climax  to  a  brilliant  series 
of  encounters ;  for,  meeting  three  enemy 
machines,  he  attacked  them  so  vigorously  that 
the  Germans,  utterly  demoralized,  scudded  for 
earth  and  safety  :  anywhere,  to  get  out  of 
range  of  this  fearless  fighter  ! 

"  Then,"  says  the  communique  laconically, 
"  Lieutenant  Ball,  being  short  of  petrol,  came 
home.  His  own  machine  was  badly  shot 
about  in  these  fights." 

On  the  day  that  he  won  the  first  bar  to  his 
D.S.O.  Captain  Ball  was  on  escort  duty  to  a 
squadron  of  bombing  'planes,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  flight  he  espied  four  German  machines 
in  formation,  waiting  to  attack  the  British 
raiders.  Instead  of  giving  them  the  opening 
they  wanted,  the  Lieutenant  took  the  initiative, 

314 


A  Champion  Aerial  Fighter 

and  being  at  a  greater  height  than  the  enemy 
aeroplanes,  dived  toward  them  at  such  a  speed 
that,  in  order  to  avoid  colhsion,  the  Germans 
had  to  break  up  their  formation — which  was 
just  what  Ball  wanted.  Before  his  foes  could 
recover  position,  he  was  upon  the  nearest  one, 
spraying  the  machine  with  his  bullets  and 
causing  such  havoc  that  it  went  tumbling  down 
to  bury  its  nose  in  the  ground,  a  complete  wreck. 
Captain  Ball  seems  to  have  been  fond  of 
smashing  formations  of  German  aeroplanes, 
for  the  announcement  gazetting  this  first  D.S.O. 
bar  contains  an  account  of  another  exploit,  in 
which  he  went  boldly  to  the  attack  of  no  fewer 
than  twelve  enemy  'planes !  Adopting  his 
usual  tactics,  he  dived  and  scattered  the  enemy 
forces,  firing  at  the  nearest  one  with  such  good 
effect  that  it  was  put  out  of  control  and 
went  spinning  over  and  over  to  destruction. 
He  had  little  opportunity  for  observing  his 
enemy's  end,  however,  for  he  had  scarcely 
succeeded  in  sending  the  first  machine  to 
earth  before  three  others  were  upon  him, 
attacking  from  different  angles.  It  was  a 
desperately  tight  corner,  in  which  an  instant's 

315 


Thrilling  Deeds 

loss  of  self-control,  the  slightest  negligence, 
meant  disaster  !  Clear-headed  and  daring,  the 
pilot  darted  into  the  attack,  first  at  one  foe 
and  then  at  another,  driving  one  away — 
probably  too  scared  to  come  again  within  range 
of  such  a  doughty  fighter — and  putting  a  second 
one  out  of  control  so  that  it  went  earthward 
to  keep  its  shattered  companion  company. 

Ball  now  found  himself  in  anything  but  a 
fit  condition  to  continue  the  fight,  for  his 
machine  had  been  badly  handled  by  the 
enemy,  and  he  had  emptied  his  gun  of  its 
last  cartridge,  whereas  he  knew  that  the  third 
machine,  which  was  now  coming  toward  him 
intent  on  trying  conclusions,  was  probably 
well  supplied  with  ammunition  The  British 
pilot  was  under  no  delusions  as  to  what  might 
be  about  to  happen,  and  told  himself  that 
his  flying  days  were  probably  over,  for  the 
German  was  humming  toward  him,  with  his 
machine-gun  fully  trained  upon  the  foe.  A 
few  more  yards  and  the  spraying  bullets  would 
be  spattering  all  about  him  ...  a  few  more 
minutes  and  his  machine  would  perhaps  go 
spinning  to  destruction.   .   .   . 

316 


A  Champion  Aerial  Fighter 

Ball,  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  his  onrushing 
foe,  did  not  try  to  avoid  the  combat,  for — he 
had  his  revolver  fulty  loaded  !  A  revolver 
against  a  machine-gun  spitting  death  at  the  rate 
of  hundreds  of  bullets  a  minute  !  It  makes 
one  hold  one's  breath  even  to  think  of  it  ! 

Fortunately,  that  Teuton  did  not  know  the 
straits  his  enemy  was  in,  or  no  doubt  he  would 
have  acted  far  differently  from  what  he  did. 
As  he  drew  near  Lieutenant  Ball  noticed  that 
the  German  was  seized  with  a  nervous  shaking. 
Probably  the  fierce  onslaughts  upon  his  com- 
panions had  utterly  unnerved  him.  As 
becomes  a  warrior,  whether  he  fights  on  land 
or  sea  or  in  the  air,  Captain  Ball  was  quick 
to  seize  his  chance  :  he  opened  fire  with  his 
revolver  and  emptied  it  full  in  the  face  of 
his  foe.  A  grim  dramatic  moment  !  Yet  not 
so  dramatic  as  the  moment  that  followed, 
for  the  impetus  of  his  swift  flight  carried 
the  German  on  a  little  way,  and  then — his 
machine  turned  over,  and  went  down  .  .  . 
down  ! 

Very  cautiously  the  victor  banked  and 
turned  ;    then,  flying  very  low  owing  to  the 

317 


TJirilling  Deeds 

fact  that  his  machine  had  been  badly  mauled, 
Captain  Ball  returned  safely  home. 

Much  more  might  be  told  of  Captain  Ball's 
achievements,  for  he  had  a  most  remarkable 
record  in  the  air.  In  the  course  of  his  many 
adventures  he  had  accounted  for  no  fewer 
than  forty-two  enemy  machines.  Then  came 
disaster.  Early  in  May  1917  it  was  announced 
that  this  gallant  officer  had  been  missing  since 
the  evening  of  the  7th  of  that  month.  He 
had  gone  up  with  ten  other  airmen,  on  a  flight 
the  purpose  of  which  was  not  revealed,  and 
the  last  that  was  seen  of  him  was  when  he  was 
a  little  way  over  the  enemy  lines.  Then  the 
light  failed,  and  the  aviator,  hero  of  so  many 
fights,  took  his  place  upon  the  tragic  list  of 
'  missing,'  a  list  which  has  contained  the  names 
of  few  men  more  entitled  to  the  admiration 
of  their  countrymen. 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

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